{"id":1661502,"date":"2022-09-28T06:38:28","date_gmt":"2022-09-28T10:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1661502"},"modified":"2022-09-28T06:38:43","modified_gmt":"2022-09-28T10:38:43","slug":"experts-say-new-york-ags-new-lawsuit-against-trump-is-part-of-an-effort-to-boost-her-own-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/experts-say-new-york-ags-new-lawsuit-against-trump-is-part-of-an-effort-to-boost-her-own-prospects\/","title":{"rendered":"Experts Say New York AG\u2019s New Lawsuit Against Trump Is Part of an Effort to Boost Her Own Prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">38<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fexperts-say-new-york-ags-new-lawsuit-against-trump-is-part-of-an-effort-to-boost-her-own-prospects%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1661502&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><em>News Analysis<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-nyc\">New York<\/a> Attorney General Letitia James carries significant political liability from her abortive run for governor last year and has targeted former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-donald-trump\">Donald Trump<\/a> and his relatives with a slew of fresh civil charges in an effort to bolster her reelection prospects in a deep blue state, legal experts and political strategists say.<\/p>\n<p>Frustration with crime in New York City runs high, as it does in many other parts of the country, and capitalizing on liberal Democrats\u2019 dislike of the former president is, in part, a diversionary tactic and a ploy to recoup some popularity and prestige, the experts argue.<\/p>\n<p>On Sept. 21, Attorney General James <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/trump-lawyers-respond-after-new-york-ag-announces-massive-lawsuit-against-company_4745400.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">filed<\/a> a lawsuit against Trump and three of his adult children, alleging that they had engaged in financial fraud by exaggerating the value of certain of their assets over the course of more than ten years. The alleged motive for the fraud was to get on better terms with banks and insurance providers. Besides barring Donald, Ivanka, and Eric Trump from serving as directors of companies registered in New York State or doing real estate deals, the suit aims to recover $250 million that James contends Trump and his relatives made illicitly.<\/p>\n<p>The latest legal moves against the former president and his family, following closely on the heels of the FBI\u2019s Aug. 8 raid on Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago home, quickly prompted a number of hyperbolic statements from pundits hostile to Trump and the brand of Republicanism that they believe he represents.<\/p>\n<p>On Sept. 26, Michael Tomasky, an influential commentator and author who serves as editor of The New Republic and editor-in-chief of Democracy, published a lengthy <a href=\"https:\/\/newrepublic.com\/article\/167862\/trump-indictment-political-violence-james\">opinion piece<\/a> in The New Republic in which he repeatedly used expletives in reference to the former president and relished what Tomasky sees as the likely consequences of Trump\u2019s latest legal woes.<\/p>\n<p>Tomasky elaborated on the scenarios he believes might result from James\u2019s charges against Trump and family as well as the Mar-a-Lago raid. In the first scenario, Tomasky suggested, Trump might sell or give away to a hostile foreign power some or all of the top-secret documents that he had allegedly brought from the White House to Mar-a-Lago upon leaving office.<\/p>\n<p>The second scenario Tomasky envisioned is one where Trump will incite his supporters with a view to stirring up mass civil unrest.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Weighing the Charges\u2019 Appropriateness<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>While Tomasky\u2019s comments on the investigation and its potential consequences may be emblematic of some pundits\u2019 tendency to rejoice over Trump\u2019s troubles, commentators with a more explicit focus on law and legal precedent have raised concerns.<\/p>\n<p>As attorney general, James has a legal and moral responsibility to enforce the law in a politically neutral manner and to avoid the temptation to settle scores with former officials with whom she has longstanding political differences.<\/p>\n<p>On Sept. 22, noted legal expert Alan Dershowitz <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/alan-dershowitz-new-york-ag-should-be-removed-from-trump-family-investigation_4748330.html?utm_source=ai&amp;utm_medium=search\">told Newsmax<\/a> that he saw a marked conflict of interest in the desire of James, who had campaigned for office in 2018 on a promise to prosecute then-President Trump, to try now to make good on that unfulfilled pledge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can\u2019t have prosecutors even civilly prosecuting a defendant if they made a campaign promise that they have to fulfill. They are not neutral and objective,\u201d Dershowitz said.<\/p>\n<p>Mark Graber, a law professor at the University of Maryland, believes that the evidence does suggest that there may be irregularities in the financial reporting of the former president and the others charged in James\u2019s lawsuit. In the current highly-politicized climate, Graber sees it as virtually inevitable that some will perceive a conflict of interest in such a situation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that in this day and age, any time the indictments were brought down would have some people thinking, \u2018This is suspicious.\u2019 For better or worse, the indictment of a person like Trump will always appear to many to be political, and to many others, getting his just desserts,\u201d Graber told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>After New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in the course of a sensational sexual harassment scandal, largely as a consequence of an investigation and detailed indictment that James herself oversaw, the attorney general announced in October 2021 that she would run for the governorship. But James <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/letitia-james-new-york-governor-election-75b50a7b576cd1e15a5f287b83094925\">announced<\/a> on Dec. 9, 2021, that she was dropping out of the race, amid polls showing her lagging by a double-digit margin behind then-Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, who went on to win the race.<\/p>\n<p>Graber does not think that, as James seeks another term as attorney general, she is now seeking to recoup lost political capital with a high-profile prosecution of the former president.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAny prosecutor might be concerned about their reelection prospects. It has been known to happen. No reason for thinking James is more or less concerned than any other prosecutor,\u201d James said.<\/p>\n<p>But Michael Alcazar, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and former New York City detective, believes that James harbors ambitions that may extend far beyond winning another term as attorney general, and sees a strong political motive at work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLetitita James\u2019s lawsuit against Trump seems like a smear campaign. I believe the New York Attorney General loves the attention that she\u2019s getting from this lawsuit. All eyes on her! If successful, it could propel her career or potential run for other offices (such as governor),\u201d Alcazar told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>A Partisan Motive?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>James may also have an interest in promoting the perception that the former president is too burdened with legal and financial woes to make an effective candidate in 2024, Alcazar suggested.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis civil lawsuit, and other lawsuits levied against Trump, will keep him in the headlines during his probable second presidential run. It would seem this is her goal, to cast Trump in an unfavorable light,\u201d Alcazar said.<\/p>\n<p>But Alcazar is skeptical about the wisdom and likely success of this tactic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think this will affect Trump\u2019s potential run. Conversely, I believe his supporters will come together and support Trump because they view this as a political attack, and a speed bump on the way to the presidency,\u201d stated Alcazar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome Trump supporters view this as a bullying technique. They see her as the bad guy grasping at straws to forward her agenda,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>In agreement with this analysis is John Feehery, a strategist, commentator, and former press secretary to Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJames is facing a tough reelection\u2014and rightly so, she is a political hack\u2014and she is misusing the legal powers of her office to further her political career,\u201d Feehery told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n<p>Feehery does not believe that the latest round of legal complications facing Trump will have the effect of pushing him to the sidelines to the benefit of other possible contenders for the GOP nomination in 2024, such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not sure how this helps DeSantis, other than further creating bad noise about Trump. I think this attack is so nakedly partisan, it might help Trump,\u201d Feehery said.<\/p>\n<p>The Epoch Times has reached out to James\u2019s office for comment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"author_wrapper\">\n<div class=\"one_author_block round\">\n<div class=\"top_row\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/author-michael-washburn\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Follow<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Michael Washburn is a New York-based reporter who covers U.S. and China-related topics. He has a background in legal and financial journalism, and also writes about arts and culture. Additionally, he is the host of the weekly podcast Reading the Globe. His books include \u201cThe Uprooted and Other Stories,\u201d \u201cWhen We&#8217;re Grownups,\u201d and \u201cStranger, Stranger.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News AnalysisNew York Attorney General Letitia James carries significant political liability from her abortive run for governor last year and has targeted former President Donald Trump and his relatives with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1661502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1661502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1661502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1661502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1661502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1661502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1661502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}