Viral
Breanna Robinson
Sep 21, 2022
Video
New York attorney general Letitia James has taken another step against former President Donald Trump - by filing a lawsuit against him, his organisation, and his three children for allegedly committing business fraud.
On Wednesday (21 September), James brought the civil suit against the Trumps and the Trump Organization after a two-year-long investigation into the values of Trump properties in New York.
The attorney general accused the former commander-in-chief and his business of committing fraud by "grossly inflating" the cost of properties, lying to lenders and insurances for over a decade.
"For too long, powerful, wealthy people in this country have operated as if the rules do not apply to them. Donald Trump stands out as among the most egregious examples of this misconduct," James said in a statement.
"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.
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Following Michael Cohen - Trump's former lawyer - testifying under oath that the former president had inflated assets in his 2019 financial statements, James then opened up a civil investigation into the Trump Organization's finances.
The lawsuit seeks a $250m judgement and removal of Trump and his children from their positions in the Trump Organization, and wants to ban them from future leadership roles in New York.
Once this news hit the social media streets, people couldn't help but poke fun, mock and critique Trump and the potential fall of his Trump empire.
One person created a scenario of Trump melting down over the news, illustrating the moment with an edited video of him angered with journalist Leslie Stahl
\u201cSpeaking of Trump Meltdowns...\n\n #TrumpMeltdown\u201d— Paul Lahticks (@Paul Lahticks) 1663779105
Another imagined the conversation James had with Trump, which included a clip of a detective telling someone they "f***** up"
\u201cWhat Letitia James told Trump \u201d— Josiah Johnson (@Josiah Johnson) 1663779995
Actress Patricia Arquette joked about Melania Trump's "divorce countdown," which is underway if the Trump money is in danger
\u201cMelania divorce countdown has begun.\u201d— Patricia Arquette (@Patricia Arquette) 1663777602
Someone else suggested that James is now living rent-free in Trump's head
\u201cLeticia James just bought 30,000 square feet in the skull of Donald J Trump.\u201d— Titus (@Titus) 1663780585
One woman wondered when Trump will start saying he doesn't know anything about his own organization
\u201cHow long before trump says he hardly knows his own organization?\u201d— Jo \ud83c\udf3b (@Jo \ud83c\udf3b) 1663780779
Another woman shared a clip of a cat angrily typing on Macbook, comparing it to Trump's team furiously sending messages in an attempt to get help for the legal costs
\u201cThe Trump team furiously sending out fundraising emails, text messages and postcards to pay mounting legal fees.\u201d— \u2764\ufe0f\ud83e\udde1\ud83d\udc9b\u15f0ia\ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9c (@\u2764\ufe0f\ud83e\udde1\ud83d\udc9b\u15f0ia\ud83d\udc9a\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc9c) 1663780919
Someone else said Trump always spoke about New York's growing crime rate, and now he's a part of it
\u201cTrump spoke frequently about the rising crime in NY \ud83d\ude0f\u201d— Outspoken\u2122\ufe0f (@Outspoken\u2122\ufe0f) 1663781088
Committing fraud might not be so easy for future leaders anymore after the lawsuit
\u201cThe New York State suit against the Trump Organization could have a chilling effect on future presidents' ability to commit fraud.\u201d— New York Times Pitchbot (@New York Times Pitchbot) 1663779716
A fellow imagined conversation between James and Trump in which he calls people mean for calling him out
\u201cTrump: I'm a mega-billionaire.\nLetitia James: No, you're a fraud.\nTrump: Why are people so mean?\u201d— Don Lewis (@Don Lewis) 1663780678
All the Trumps pointing the finger at each other to take the blame for the lawsuit, except Eric
\u201cTrump Organization Agenda for 9/21/22:\n\n1. Delegation\u201d— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@Mrs. Betty Bowers) 1663780867
Some just won't be entirely happy until Trump is locked up in jail
\u201cThis lawsuit against trump is a great start, but I won't be fully satisfied until that crooked jackass is behind bars.\u201d— BrooklynDad_Defiant!\u262e\ufe0f (@BrooklynDad_Defiant!\u262e\ufe0f) 1663781073
Trump's walls at Mar-a-Lago looking like the blood-filled scene in the film Carrie - but make it ketchup
\u201cWherever Trump is just now, I bet the walls look like a scene from Carrie with all the ketchup flung their way\u201d— Ann is still European\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7 (@Ann is still European\ud83c\uddec\ud83c\udde7) 1663780989
James' lawsuit further noted that there were more than 200 false and misleading asset evaluations in 11 of Trump's yearly financial statements.
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