Main summary
The Trump administration is investigating the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, in the case of civil fraud that former president Donald Trump and his company, according to several media. A citation has been issued to obtain documents, while Trump still faces a fine of 500 million dollars (and up) in a case that is still pending in the Court of Appeals.
Key data
- The Department of Justice issued a citation to the James office to obtain documents related to the case of civil fraud, several media reported on Friday. According to The New York Times, this is part of an investigation to determine if the case violated Trump’s civil rights.
- James sued Trump, the Trump organization and its commercial partners for fraud, claiming that the former president and his collaborators repeatedly falsified the value of their assets in financial statements to obtain personal benefits. Judge Arthur Fenoron failed in favor of James and declared Trump and his coacused responsible for fraud.
- Trump has long denied the accusations, insisting that there were no irregularities in the assessment of his assets, and has repeatedly attacked James, accusing her of having a political bias against her and calling her a “criminal.”
- The case is still ongoing. A State Court of Appeals heard Trump’s appeal last September, but has not yet issued a decision about whether the fattening ruling must be maintained.
- TEGORON ordered Trump to pay 454.2 million dollars, a sum that continues to increase, since approximately 111,984 of daily interests accumulate – which raises the current total to about 513 million dollars.
- James has strongly opposed the investigation reported against him. His personal lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement on Friday: “Investigating the case of fraud that Attorney General James won against President Trump and his companies is, without a doubt, the most shameless and desperate example of how this administration carries out a campaign of political retaliation.”
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What to observe
How Trump administration research on James will be developed. There are no indications that James has committed irregularities in his litigation against Trump, although it is not yet clear what the investigation of the Department of Justice or how long will take. It has also been reported that the DOJ issued a separate citation to obtain documents on a demand that James successfully filed against the National Rifle Association (NRA), and that it would also be investigating James personal real estate transactions.
Will Trump have to pay in the case of civil fraud?
It remains to be seen how the Court of Appeals will fail in relation to Trump’s appeal. The five judges panel seemed to show some sympathy towards Trump during last year’s hearing and suggested that he could be willing to reduce the bulky sum that was ordered to pay, which a judge described as “worrying.” It is not known when the final decision will be issued. The interests will continue to accumulate until the appeal process ends completely, and Trump will only have to pay if the courts continue to find it responsible for fraud after exhausting all instances. He has already filed a bond of 175 million dollars, after convincing a court to reduce the amount he had to pay immediately.
Forbes assessment
Forbes estimates that Trump’s net assets is 5.1 billion dollars to Friday afternoon. Its liquidity has increased significantly since the fraud failure was issued, which makes it totally capable of paying the civil fine. Currently, Trump has approximately 770 million dollars in liquid assets, compared to the 413 million dollars after the fattening ruling, thanks in large part to his investments in cryptocurrencies.
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Key context
James sued Trump and his company in 2022 for alleged fraud, claiming that the president and his allies repeatedly inflated the size and value of his assets to obtain more favorable conditions in business. The accusations included false valuations of properties such as Mar-A-Lago and the Trump Tower, where the Trump organization exaggerated the penthouse size of the former president even after Forbes reported that the used figure was false. Tenoron declared Trump and his fraud responsible even before the case was to trial, and then failed in February 2024 that the fraud was consciously committed, noting that there was “overwhelming evidence” that Trump and his allies knew that the numbers were false. Tenoron wrote that Trump “was aware of many of the key facts that supported various fraudulent material statements.”
James is one of several prosecutors to whom Trump has attacked while legal cases accumulated against him between his two presidential mandates, and the former president has long suggested that he wants to take revenge on his enemies from the White House. In addition to the New York Attorney General, the Trump Administration has also opened an investigation into Jack Smith, the former special formal who led the two federal criminal cases against Trump.
This note was originally posted in Forbes USA.
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