So, in terms of the NY lawsuit against Trump by AG James, it’s my opinion that James has
boxed herself in.
First, as I predicted, she’s turned Trump into a hot potato no one wants to touch. What insurance company or bank would want to provide Trump a bond or letter of credit when they may then become the target of the attorney general, or worse, see the AG exercise Trump’s bond leaving the insurance company having to try to collect from Trump’s illiquid properties?
The argument to the appeals court should be that AG James has made it impossible for Trump to secure a bond, and therefore, she has denied his due process right to an appeal.
In fact, her case is already crumbling under appellate scrutiny. An appeals court – correctly – slashed the amount Trump needs to post to appeal. And he’s vowed to pay it in cash.
If the appeals court hadn’t reversed AG James’ kangaroo court decision, she would have had to move to confiscate his properties. The problem with that is that the properties have mortgages. A transfer of title of the properties would probably trigger the due on sale clause, i.e., the mortgage would have to be paid off. That means the NY taxpayers would have to pay up!
Her approach is so flawed that the appellate court had to act.
Worse, if NY state didn’t pay up, it would likely create a nationwide banking or insurance company crisis. I am guessing that the lenders on the properties may have made loans to dozens of other banks or insurance companies, which means any losses incurred may spread throughout the banking or insurance industry in the U.S.
Not to mention that if you were a tenant in those properties, wouldn’t you be looking to get the hell out of Dodge if the state and AG James became your landlord? Remember, anyone doing business with Trump may be at risk to become the next target, therefore, James will likely cause the property values to fall is she takes title to the buildings, and be unlikely to recover the full market value of the properties if she tries to dispose of them after confiscating them.
Why? Well, one, if the state is the seller, they’re likely to get less, and two, who wants to take the chance that Trump could sue them or come after them if the Supreme Court rules in his favor and he wants his properties back.
Not to mention I am guessing that Trump is not the sole owner, and since minority shareholders of the properties have rights and shouldn’t have to suffer losses due to Trump (well, really, due to AG James). Those minority shareholders could go to court to stall out the AG taking the properties. At least, that’s a strategy he should employ if James tries to steal his properties.
So, she has herself boxed in. It’s a huge mess, all of her own doing—for solely political reasons. Admittedly, she thinks she’s sitting in the catbird seat and in control, and she’s looking at achieving her stated political goal of destroying Trump’s companies, but in the meantime, she will have cost taxpayers billions of dollars and likely also convinced a lot of businesses to get the hell out of NY. Who in their right mind (pun intended) would stick around NY state after this?
Sidebar: I’m a shareholder in a company that was sued by the FTC over frivolous charges. For seven years, the company had to fight back, spending tens of millions of dollars to defend itself against a government agency whose sole desire was to damage or destroy the company.
Fortunately, in their case, a jury just ruled in their favor a couple of weeks ago, but think of the cost and the damage done. It is literally an all-out war on business these days by the Biden Administration.
It’s really sick when you think about it. Once again, Biden goes free after committing treason and taking what is effectively bribes from foreign parties, while fake charges are trumped up and a kangaroo court levies a judgment designed to destroy his political opponent – just like they do in Russia.
I say, Nyet.
Wisconsin Right Now is a news organization focused on covering the news from a conservative point of view, in particular on politics and policy issues through analysis and opinions, and is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. WRN and the columnist do not make endorsements of candidates or urge a vote for or against any candidate or issue. On October 18 and November 23, 2023, Donald Trump tweeted out on Trump’s Truth Social account T. Wall’s October 6th column on Trump’s property valuations. T. Wall holds a degree from the UW in economics and an M.S. in real estate analysis and valuation and is a real estate developer. Disclaimer: The opinions of the writer are not necessarily those of this publication or the left!
