# 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:** 33
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/642 "2023-10-06T22:32:47Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Donald Trump Jr. showed a higher level of knowledge about GAAP I like how DJT starts laughing and the interviewer starts laughing with him. I bet she’s laughing for a different reason. [https://youtu.be/1r3ZuvDN32g?t=70](https://youtu.be/1r3ZuvDN32g?t=70) ---
**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:** [October 6, 2023, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/643 "2023-10-06T22:46:16Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > 🤦🏽‍♀️ > > You really _can’t_ make this shit up. Speaking of, did you know that the COO (Chief Operating Officer) of the Trump Organization, Matthew Calamari, is a former security guard that caught Trump’s eye when he beat up some hecklers at a sporting event? > **[Trump testifies he hired bodyguard after seeing his ‘bravery’ in a fight](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/27/donald-trump-matthew-calamari-bodyguard-lawsuit)** > > Ex-president also testifies that thrown tomatoes can be lethal, after activist sues over his treatment by Trump security ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/644 "2023-10-06T22:50:09Z")
Calamari and Cheesebro sounds like a punk comic published in the nineties. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/645 "2023-10-06T22:57:32Z")
The team-up with the Flaming Carrot was a classic though. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/646 "2023-10-06T23:11:32Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > So, in a taped deposition shown today, Trump Organization CFO and accountant Allen Weisselberg testified that he wasn’t familiar with GAAP, an acronym for “generally accepted accounting principles” because he wasn’t a CPA (certified public accountant) and had never studied for the CPA exam. Holy shit. I am by no means an accountant. I am a certified expert on Money Laundering, bank fraud, and the like. I did take some tax course from the IRS. But I know full well what GAAP means and I have even used it on these boards. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > You really _can’t_ make this shit up. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/647 "2023-10-06T23:25:17Z")
I am wondering whether the investigators will look for evidence of his using the term in any document, and if they find it, will go after him for perjuring himself. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/648 "2023-10-06T23:33:16Z")
Not perjury (too high a hurdle) but that could be used to show his lack of truthfulness. Thus impugning his testimony. “We can prove you lied here under oath, so that means your evidence is suspect” ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/649 "2023-10-06T23:35:15Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I am by no means an accountant. I am a certified expert on Money Laundering, bank fraud, and the like. I did take some tax course from the IRS. But I know full well what GAAP means and I have even used it on these boards. I’m not any of those exciting things, and I made a GAAP joke on these boards that amused nobody. > [@"Mind the gap" offensive?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mind-the-gap-offensive/990516/48): > > I know a maverick CFO who was brought to task by his board for reporting the company’s finances in an unconventional manner. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/650 "2023-10-06T23:47:06Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Holy shit. I am by no means an accountant. I am a certified expert on Money Laundering, bank fraud, and the like. I did take some tax course from the IRS. But I know full well what GAAP means and I have even used it on these boards. Indeed. I’m a marketing and advertising guy; my sole exposure to accounting is three semesters of accounting classes when I was in business school, 35+ years ago. Even I know what GAAP stands for, and what it means. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/651 "2023-10-07T00:57:38Z")
Hell, I’ve had no accounting classes at all and I know what “GAAP” means. I do proofread a lot of deposition transcripts, and a fair number of them involve financial issues where the term shows up. But for someone like Weisselberg to claim he knows nothing, nothing at all! about GAAP? That should have been met with snickers if not outright guffaws. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/652 "2023-10-07T01:07:20Z")
I have no idea what case this is from, or even if it’s recent. If anyone does, it can be moved to the correct thread. In any case, I just ran across this gif, captioned only, by the person that posted it to imgur, with “He’s knows it’s over…” [https://i.imgur.com/Yt9spk2.mp4](https://i.imgur.com/Yt9spk2.mp4) ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/653 "2023-10-07T02:00:57Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > But for someone like Weisselberg to claim he knows nothing, nothing at all! about GAAP? That should have been met with snickers if not outright guffaws. It makes sense to me. The Generally Accepted Accounting Practices are for the suckers and losers out there. Trump has his own set of rules. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/654 "2023-10-07T06:36:05Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I’m not any of those exciting things, and I made a GAAP joke on these boards that amused nobody. I grinned. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/655 "2023-10-07T08:33:36Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > > [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > > > Trump Organization CFO and accountant Allen Weisselberg testified that he wasn’t familiar with GAAP, an acronym for “generally accepted accounting principles”… > > 🤦🏽‍♀️ > > You really _can’t_ make this shit up. His job description was probably PLEASE (Provide Legal Exculpation And Sign Everything). ---
**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:** [October 8, 2023, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/656 "2023-10-08T05:14:21Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > In any case, I just ran across this gif, captioned only, by the person that posted it to imgur, with “He’s knows it’s over…” Those last couple of seconds, you can see him think, “Wait, no, I’m supposed to be ‘looking tough’ right now”, and then he tries to put on that mug shot face he practiced sooooo much. ---
**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:** [October 8, 2023, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/657 "2023-10-08T05:15:58Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > The Generally Accepted Accounting Practices are for the suckers and losers out there. “I was never in the military, so I don’t need to ‘accept’ any practices just because some ‘General’ told me to!” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2023, 9:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/658 "2023-10-09T09:10:23Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > Donald Trump Jr. showed a higher level of knowledge about GAAP than the company’s chief accountant, admitting that he probably learned about them when he took Accounting 101 in business school. When asked what he remembered, he replied “that they’re generally accepted.” I know they’re also accounting principles, so I know twice as much as Don Jr! (I know a _little_ more than that, tbf. I couldn’t cite them, but I broadly understand what they’re used for.) ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2023, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/659 "2023-10-09T15:56:15Z")
It’s symptomatic of Trump’s approach to hiring. He doesn’t want experience or expertise. He wants rubber-stamping fall guys. It’s absolutely not allowed that any minion should think they know better about **anything** than The Boss. That was his main heartburn as president. His underlings were often disturbingly competent and too committed to doing their jobs, which interfered with Trump’s imperious desires. It sucks when you think you’re entitled to rule by dictat but your flunkies keep going on about “rule of law” and the “Constitution” and how the Civil Service won’t go along. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/660 "2023-10-09T16:49:39Z")
Yeah, the Deep State wasn’t a problem until it wouldn’t say yes to his idiotic commands. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2023, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991/661 "2023-10-10T05:50:46Z")
> **[Team Trump Is Using 'Fyre Festival Strategies' in N.Y. Fraud Case](https://news.yahoo.com/team-trump-using-fyre-festival-130738822.html)** > > There’s no chance of actually winning on the merits. So Trump and his lawyers are hoping to score some PR points, kick up as much dirt as possible, enrage the judge, trash some of the witnesses, an… This article suggests there may be some tactical method to the Trump team’s shenanigans in the NY case. Basically, they know they have essentially no chance to prevail in the current proceeding, but by antagonizing the judge, while this increases the chances of a harsher result in the short term, they may be able to bait him into behavior that establishes some sort of foundation on appeal. It’s a high risk strategy but it aligns with Trump’s reflexive “always fight, never surrender” philosophy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991.md?page=32) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ny-ag-letitia-james-drops-the-civil-hammer-on-trump-family-9-21-2022/971991.md?page=34)