# NY AG Letitia James drops the (civil) hammer {On Trump & Family} \[9/21/2022\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [September 21, 2022, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991 "2022-09-21T16:13:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 143
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2842 "2024-03-21T16:34:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Early signs are that she’ll be moving on Trump’s Silver Springs resort and Trump National Golf Club Westchester first… Makes sense. Trump may boo hoo about this, but crying “someone took one of my many golf courses” is going to look pretty pathetic. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2843 "2024-03-21T16:34:54Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Seems like he needs a White Knight. A **Red** knight. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2844 "2024-03-21T16:36:31Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > Trump has signed a legal document saying that Mar-a-Lago is NOT his primary residence, he’s actually an employee of the club and as such is allowed to live there. Now, if you really want to troll Trump, take over as owner of the MaL club, and then fire him for obvious violations of company policy (i.e., not being a fraudster), then have him escorted off the premises and permanently barred. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2845 "2024-03-21T16:36:32Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Right, but if the shell companies make it difficult to figure out who ultimately owns TP#2\*, who exactly is getting the loan and who exactly is getting the debt in the first place? I’m not talking about the bond surety stuff, but the original loans that this whole thing is predicated on. The strict legal answer is that if TP#2\* is on title as owning TrumpBlock2, than that’s the owner. The bank will have loaned the money to TP#2 to buy TrumpBlock2, and will be registered as a secured creditor on the title to TrumpBlock2 But where it gets complicated is, did TP#2 have enough assets on its own to buy TrumpBlock2 and get financing? Probably not, since it’s likely a company TrumpOrg created for the purpose of owning TrumpBlock2. So, to get financing, one of the entities higher up in TrumpOrg likely had to give a loan guarantee to the bank. But that doesn’t mean that higher TrumpOrg entity is on title to TrumpBlock2. The loan guarantee that it gives is a separate deal with the bank, and maybe it had to give some security against another TrumpOrg property to induce the bank to give the loan to TP#2 for TrumpBlock2. That security might be a second level credit, after the primary secured creditor for that other property. Trump appears to have got loans in part based on his claimed net worth. I’m just speculating, but his claimed net worth may be based on a basket of all the assets that he ultimately controls, but without adding encumbrances to each one? A global guaranteee for the bank, based on his personal assessment of values of those properties. (But, there’s that little issue trusting Trump…) I dunno. I’ve just seen articles in various news sources that say TrumpOrg properties are very tangled up. I’ve just used the Scottish helicopter case as one example of how complicated it can be. \*You’re welcome. 😉 ETA: one last point — ownership of TP#2 is different from ownership of TrumpBlock2. TP#2 is presumably a share company, and some higher TrumpOrg entity owns the shares to TP#2. That gives that higher entity control over TP#2, but not ownership of TrumpBlock2. TP#2 is a separate legal entity, with legal personhood, and is the owner of TrumpBlock2. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2846 "2024-03-21T16:50:12Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > The push to get this Trump Media merger finished ASAP suggest that he’s moved on to hailing a new Mary. If he’s able to get clearance to dump his stock (which seems to me is effectively clearance to destroy the company’s value), he’d only need to get around 15%\* of its current valuation before it bottoms out. > > The latest article I read puts his interest in the company at around 3 billion. Which is insane for a company that had less than 5 million in revenue last year. I just browsed some articles that showed 2.3 million in revenue for the first 6 months of 2023 and 1.07 million for the 3rd quarter, which is how I extrapolated to _less than 5 million_. Note that this is total incoming revenue, not profits. In November 2023, they were on target to lose 23 million for the year. > **[Donald Trump's Truth Social has lost $23 million this year. Its accountants...](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-truth-social-loss-accountants-warning-going-concern/)** > > Although Truth Social aspires to compete with Big Tech, the conservative-friendly social network's financial performance has slumped badly. The advertising on Truth Social is a joke, a handful of companies selling MAGA swag. Looking at today’s ads, the biggest advertiser seems to be Truth Social - they are running ads geared at DWAC shareholders. I don’t see any path for Truth Social ever becoming a genuinely profitable company. I doubt they have a single dollar in revenue that comes from outside the MAGAsphere, all the advertisers are just fighting for their piece of the general MAGA grift. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2847 "2024-03-21T16:59:09Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Now, if you really want to troll Trump, take over as owner of the MaL club, and then fire him for obvious violations of company policy (i.e., not being a fraudster), then have him escorted off the premises and permanently barred. I like the cut of your jib, sir. And I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2848 "2024-03-21T17:01:24Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > all the advertisers are just fighting for their piece of the general MAGA grift. The _quickly dwindling pile_ of MAGA grift. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2849 "2024-03-21T17:37:12Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > . It’s that Trump is a _really_ shitty credit risk. > > … the likeliest scenario is that Trump just doesn’t have enough unencumbered assets to make it an absolute certainty the issuer will get its dough. Seems like he needs a White Knight. This is Trump. This is not a typical routine case for a bond company. In a typical case, the bond company analyzes credit risk and needs certainty about getting its dough returned. But this is Trump. My prediction (made today, Thursday, one or two days before the deadline): There will be a White Knight. It will be somebody for whom a half billion dollars is not a critical loss, but for whom personal connection to the next president of the US is worth more than a half billion. They will pay the money from an anonymous numbered bank account, and not reveal their identity. Sure, it’s not a certainty that Trump wins the election. But the odds are fifty-fifty, and that’s a worthwhile bet for Putin, or a Saudi prince. Today is Thursday…when is the deadline? Friday 5 pm, or Monday morning? So it’s either 24 or 72 hours till either my prediction is proved right, or I look like a fool. . . (Gee…it would be fun to set up a poll: “chappachula is a fool-vote yes or no”. I used to have a dunce cap, but it got lost in a move after college…I just googled to see if I can buy a new one, but -seriously-the link on Walmart dot com said it was out of stock, for $28.99 . So i guess I’m not alone…there must be a big demand for dunce caps. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2850 "2024-03-21T17:53:53Z")
My question is, does the provenance of the money make a difference to the state? If it is clearly or strongly suspected to have come from some shady source, does the court have to accept it? Or can it say, no this is not acceptable. Or can some other entity, e.g., the US State Department, block it? Would money from some foreign source be illegal? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2851 "2024-03-21T17:54:40Z")
Barbara Jones has been set up to continue as the monitor for the Trump Organization for the next three years. At least someone will be keeping an eye on him. (On a side note, who is paying her to do this? The State of New York?) > **[Judge in Trump's civil fraud trial imposes monitor to oversee Trump...](https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-trumps-civil-fraud-trial-imposes-monitor-oversee/story?id=108352797)** > > The judge in former President Trump's civil fraud trial has imposed a monitor to oversee the Trump Organization's finances. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2852 "2024-03-21T17:58:51Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Or can some other entity, e.g., the US State Department, block it? > > Would money from some foreign source be illegal? Unless the source was under some existing sanctions, I can’t see why it would be illegal. You could argue it was a bribe, but then you could argue that for any large domestic donations as well. This would be the biggest problem for Russia to front the money - the US government is already trying to block any cash payments they might make. But it would be hilarious if they were to try, and get caught. Russia loses the money, Trump doesn’t get the money, and then Putin and Trump spend the rest of their lives arguing over who owes who a half a billion dollars. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2853 "2024-03-21T18:04:28Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > They will pay the money from an anonymous numbered bank account, and not reveal their identity. ( cough ) Putin ( cough ) ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2854 "2024-03-21T18:05:39Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > (On a side note, who is paying her to do this? The State of New York?) I believe the Trump Org. itself is responsible for paying her. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2855 "2024-03-21T18:06:50Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > They will pay the money from an anonymous numbered bank account, and not reveal their identity. Anonymous donation to a GoFundMe account… ---
**Author:** ![Chisquirrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6bbea6/32.png) [@Chisquirrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chisquirrel)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2856 "2024-03-21T18:07:41Z")
Putin already owns Trump. Do you pay more cash for the coffee mug you’ve owned for the last decade because it has a sad? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2857 "2024-03-21T18:07:52Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > This would be the biggest problem for Russia to front the money - the US government is already trying to block any cash payments they might make. I posted this in The Pit: > Chubb has an office in Moscow. I don’t see any reason why the Moscow office couldn’t make an inter-company transfer to the Zürich headquarters, which could then make an inter-company transfer to the U.S. headquarters in New Jersey. Is there a reason that wouldn’t work? ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2858 "2024-03-21T18:12:41Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Is there a reason that wouldn’t work? I’m pretty sure the US government could figure out such a straightforward shell game. They’ve been tracking money laundering by drug dealers for decades now, so I’m pretty sure they’ve see any dodge we could come up with. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2859 "2024-03-21T18:14:20Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > I’ve got a split of champagne waiting in the fridge. > [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > All I have is a bottle of Talisker 15 year old, but that will have to do. > [@Spoons](#): > > Oban 14 year old single malt here. > [@silenus](#): > > Unopened bottle of the 12 year old. Last auction sale I’m aware of it fetched $1200+ > [@susan](#): > > Glenmorangie Cellar 13 First Fill Casks (no longer produced). > [@Disinfectus](#): > > John Walker Blue will have to suffice. > [@ColdBrew50](#): > > Cask-strength Writers Tears if they ever see fit to distribute it. > [@Yllaria](#): > > I only have caffeine free diet soda. But I do find it festive. > [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I’ll just stick to my Fireball. Resolved: there is no evidence of a hive mind here. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2860 "2024-03-21T18:17:29Z")
Eh. Never mind. Preview wouldn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/2861 "2024-03-21T18:30:34Z")
[Deleted] My question was largely covered above. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991.md?page=142) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991.md?page=144)