Trump administration refers NY AG Letitia James for possible prosecution over allegations of mortgag

This is standard procedure any time a politician is single out by the bad person at the head of the opposing political party. It's a chance for them to tell small and larger donors that I will be your standard bearer in fighting the good fight against the evil opposition. Note this is an invite to a re-election fundraiser and I do not believe those fund could be used to pay for her legal defense team in this case. So this is likely James trying to take advantage of her name being in the headlines to raise as much money for re-election as she can.

 

I guess it's an example of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery considering the Trump held numerous fundraisers while he was being investigated and was the defendant in multiple civil and criminal cases and used his status as a defendant to gin up donors?

 

If it is directly for her campaign, then I do not believe any of it can be used since legal fees for a criminal offense are considered personal expenses.

If it is for a Leadership PAC, then things get a little murky:

CAN LEADERSHIP PACS BE USED TO PAY LEGAL FEES?
The answer is tricky, according to legal experts. Generally, politicians cannot spend campaign money on legal expenses unless they are tied to a campaign, but many of the investigations involving Trump relate to his conduct as president and as a political candidate.
However, leadership PACs such as Save America also are not allowed to directly support their own candidate's campaign. Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School and an expert on campaign finance issues who has supported Democratic candidates, said that because Trump is fighting criminal charges during a presidential campaign, it is possible that covering legal fees could be considered a benefit to his campaign.
Campaign finance experts said the question was unsettled, though Trump's team would most likely argue his criminal defense is separate from his campaign.
A Trump spokesman said the legal payments were made in "accordance with the law and upon the advice of counsel."

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/can-trump-use-political-donations-pay-legal-defense-2023-08-01/

 

In this case, what's fair for the gander is fair for the goose. Can't say I'm surprised Letitia James is dishonest, stupid, and unethical. Being old and feeble isn't an excuse for her like Joe Biden. She won't have a New York City jury to count on for jury nullification either.

 

Conceding that this was an answer provided by ChatGPT, keep in mind one of the mortgages was signed in 1983, the other in 2000. Do the math.
The federal statute of limitations for mortgage fraud is 10 years. This means the government has 10 years from the time the alleged fraud occurred to file charges. Previously, the statute of limitations for all fraud cases was 5 years, but the 2009 Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA) increased it to 10 years for mortgage fraud cases.

Also, in any type of fraud the burden is on the government to prove intent beyond a reasonable doubt. A drafting error or oversight it not sufficient to establish intent. This is most likely just an attempt to smear James. The chances of charges being filed at all are very slim although not completely beyond the realm of possibility.

 

I’m not sure she really does. Of the three places this case could potentially be tried, NYC, NOVA, or Norfolk, they are all deep blue areas and she would likely have sympathetic juries. I do not think the point of this case is getting a conviction, it is putting James through a grueling legal process, where the process is the punishment.

 

In view of the 10-year statute of limitations for mortgage fraud (see Post #107) it's very possible that the case will be dismissed before it ever gets to trial and that assume that Trump's DOJ or more accurately his Department of Retribution actually seeks to indict James in the first place.

 

I'm sure the Trump DoJ is going to come up with a unique argument for why the SoL has not passed and be willing to keep appealing any decision that goes against them, just to keep the process going.

 

I think there's a term for that...let me think, oh wait, witch hunt...I think i've heard that term before.

 

A long time ago, long before Trump decided to resurrect it.

 

Even before that.


(Bridget Bishop)

 

That's when the term was literal. Now the phrase is a metaphor. On the other hand even today sometimes the witch is real.

 

And any of the most likely absurd arguments that a Trump DOJ makes to circumvent the statute of limitations will most likely be rejected by the courts as they should do so.

 

Come on, have faith in our DOJ that they’ll find a way.

 

Now James and the State of NY are suing Trump over his illegal and ill advised tariffs. Donny is going down.

 

As has California.
Governor Newsom files lawsuit to end President Trump’s tariffs | Governor of California