New York’s Attorney General, Letitia James, is seeking sanctions against former US President Donald Trump, his adult children, the Trump Organization, and their lawyers for their responses to her $250 million civil fraud lawsuit against them. James filed the lawsuit last September, alleging that the defendants were involved in a decade-long scheme to manipulate asset values and Trump’s net worth to induce banks and insurers to provide better terms. On January 26, the defendants filed formal answers where they denied or claimed to lack sufficient knowledge about many of the accusations, a typical response in similar lawsuits.
In a letter to the Manhattan judge overseeing the case, Arthur Engoron, James said that many of the responses were “demonstrably false,” frivolous, or otherwise improper. She believes the Trumps should lose some of their defenses and face sanctions. James says the court has warned the defendants and their lawyers about their “continued invocation of meritless legal claims,” but the message was not taken.
James has criticized Trump’s response of objecting to being labeled the “inactive president” of the Trump Organization during his White House term, despite having used the description in a sworn deposition in October 2021. She has also criticized Ivanka Trump for saying she does not know if she has personally met with bankers or can confirm the contents of her emails.
James has rejected arguments by Donald Trump and his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, that she lacked standing to sue and “acted contrary to the ancient and customary norms” governing prosecutors. She says Judge Engoron has already rejected their contention that she was pursuing a political “witch hunt.”
Earlier in January, Donald Trump ended two legal challenges to James’ lawsuit after a Florida judge imposed $937,989 of sanctions against him and his lawyer for filing a “completely frivolous” lawsuit accusing Hillary Clinton of trying to rig the 2016 US presidential election. James asked for sanctions the same day that new video from her office’s August 10 deposition of Donald Trump was released, showing the former president repeatedly refusing to answer questions, citing his right against self-incrimination under the US Constitution.
Donald Trump has called James’ lawsuit a “vindictive and self-serving fishing expedition, the likes of which this country has perhaps never seen before.” He believes that anyone in his position who doesn’t take the Fifth Amendment would be foolish.
In conclusion, New York’s Attorney General is seeking sanctions against former President Donald Trump, his adult children, the Trump Organization, and their lawyers for their responses to her $250 million civil fraud lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that the defendants were involved in a decade-long scheme to manipulate asset values and Trump’s net worth to induce banks and insurers to provide better terms. Despite being warned by the court about their inappropriate responses, the Trumps and their lawyers have not taken the message, leading James to seek sanctions.
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New York attorney general calls for new sanctions against Donald Trump