New York Attorney General Leticia James has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., as well as against senior executives at the Trump Organization for fraud.
Former President Donald Trump and his three adult children have been accused of "grossly inflating" the value of the Trump family assets by billions.
New York Attorney General Leticia James has filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., as well as against senior executives at the Trump Organization for fraud.
The suit accuses them of exaggerating the value of everything they own, from high-rises to golf clubs.
"With the help of his children and senior executives at the Trump Organization, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and cheat the system," James said in a statement. "In fact, the very foundation of his purported net worth is rooted in incredible fraud and illegality. Mr. Trump thought he could get away with the art of the steal, but today, that conduct ends."
She said the Trumps claimed Mar-a-Lago was worth $739 million, but that it’s worth a fraction of that at just $75 million.
James also claimed that Trump inflated the size and value of his luxury apartment at Trump Tower. He claimed the triplex apartment is a whopping 30,000-square-feet, when it's 11,000-square-feet.
James is seeking harsh penalties. She wants the family banned from doing business in New York state for five years and is suing them for $250 million in ill-gotten gains.
Trump previously called James a "renegade prosecutor" who he said is running a "vindictive and self-serving fishing expedition."
Trump called the lawsuit "another witch hunt" in a statement posted on the Truth Social site Wednesday.
"She is a fraud who campaigned on a 'get Trump' platform," Trump wrote.
Donald Trump Jr. took to Twitter after the suit was announced. Next to a video of James, he wrote, "The bullshit Dem witch-hunt continues!"
Eric Trump wrote on Truth Social, "Letitia James is the most corrupt Attorney General in United States History — she campaigned on the promised to sue my father."
Responding to Wednesday's announcement, Trump attorney Alina Habba said in a statement to CNN: "Today's filing is neither focused on the facts nor the law -- rather, it is solely focused on advancing the Attorney General's political agenda. It is abundantly clear that the Attorney General's Office has exceeded its statutory authority by prying into transactions where absolutely no wrongdoing has taken place."
As his legal woes mount, the former president appears to be turning to the more extreme - fringe element of his MAGA nation, QAnon.
The Q devotees were out in force at Trump’s Ohio rally this weekend and according to some reports, Trump appeared to appeal to them directly.
Music some said sounded a lot like the Q theme song was also played.
The crowd responded by doing the Q salute, raising one finger in the air, symbolizing a one. The conspiracy theorist group’s motto is "where we go one, we go all."
Trump's spokesperson dismissed the reports.
“The fake news, in a pathetic attempt to create controversy and divide America, is brewing up another conspiracy,” he said. He also said the song heard playing is a royalty-free song from a popular audio library platform.
But Trump has also been reposting QAnon content on Truth Social, including a photoshopped image of himself wearing a Q pin with the Q slogan, “the storm is coming.”
Will Sommer, the author of a book that examines QAnon, “Trust the Plan,” said hardcore Q followers believe Trump will slaughter his enemies in a violent uprising. “Someday there will be there will be a moment Trump will arrest his enemies and imprison them and execute them and after that there will be a Utopia,” he said. “I think it’s really disturbing.”
