As I recall it started with the whole family being herded down to the basement and shot so... Ok half-Scoop. You got it. ‘Like the start of the Bolshevik Revolution’: Don Trump Jr. unspools after being found liable for fraud https://www.rawstory.com/donald-trump-jr-fraud/ Donald Trump Jr. reacted to being found liable for fraud in New York by insisting he was punished for his famous name. During an appearance on The Charlie Kirk Show on Wednesday, Trump objected to New York Judge Arthur Engoron's ruling that found him, his father, and others liable for fraudulently manipulating the value of assets. "I've never seen anything even like it," Trump said. "I mean, this is sort of like the start of the Bolshevik Revolution. We don't just we don't like you. So we're going to confiscate property. We're going to do these things." (More at above url)
Haven't bothered to follow super closely because to me this is just preaching to the choir but AP seems to have a comprehensive summary along w/court .docs: https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-letitia-james-fraud-lawsuit-1569245a9284427117b8d3ba5da74249
I’m not an attorney, so don’t take my comments as legal advice. Likely, a competent attorney, if Trump has one, would make a much more compelling case for Trump’s position, than I can. Here are seven points related to the apparent political prosecution of Trump in the New York property valuation trial: Presumption of innocence - Property valuations are subjective and subject to change. Even a property valuation on the same date, by the same appraiser, can vary by appraisal type and one of three common valuation methods. Normally, a bank orders the appraisal from a licensed appraiser as part of their decision making process. Equal justice under the law - Political prosecution? Was Trump singled out or was there a major “Crackdown” on commercial borrowers, regardless of their political affiliation? Was a party harmed by the valuation statement? If so, did the harmed party know or should have known the valuation was unreasonable? Is it ever reasonable for a bank to rely on borrowers valuation statements either because borrower lack of professional(State licensed) expertise or conflict of interest? The lawsuit against Trump is in contravention of long established business practices. Possible long established tradition versus recently enacted rule change conflict. Likely violation of bank’s fiduciary duty of confidentiality owed to Trump, tainting validity of lawsuit. Any regulatory requirement for a bank to calculate and report possible stated and probable asset valuations could be easily considered regulatory overreach or even unconstitutional by a higher court. Bank officers often “Encourage” borrowers to inflate assets to increase their chance of procuring business. Further, banks verify information by the borrower (Processing) and make a decision whether to make the loan (Underwriting), making the bank effectively a party in determining property valuation. One of the meta issues Leftist miss when engaging in political prosecutions is the adverse effect on the business environment. In the example above, borrowers may feel they are locked out of a market they may have otherwise qualified for, reducing profit potential for lenders. This in turn may cause related businesses to reduce expansion plans, limited local economic potential. We saw this effect during the Obama Administration are a nationwide scale where businesses, even though incentivized, were reluctant to expand over fears related regulatory and enforcement uncertainty. Just as the Republicans screwed themselves messing with the status quo with Roe versus Wade, Democrats risk screwing all of us by creating an unnecessarily unfriendly business environment. As far as the idea of selectively enforcing rules for politically aligned businesses, guess what happens to prices when competition is reduced?
Maybe you need to to read the summary from the judge -- it addresses most of your points. What the Trumps engaged in was direct fraud.
1. Who was the victim and how were they affected? 2. Did the bank(s) directly or indirectly have a part in determining “Reasonable value”? 3. How was reasonable value determined and why should that method have authority? 4. How many other businesses has the prosecution brought a similar lawsuit? 5. Did the judge err when categorically denying an apparent reasonable defense? 6. The case has not been actually decided yet. The judge apparently ruled on a lesser point of the case, correct?
Unique to NYC, its actual square footage is half the advertised square footage. NYC tax base is inflated. Rents are based on price per advertised square foot.
Once again -- read the summary from the judge. It addresses all of your points relevant to this particular case. Whether the prosecution has brought similar lawsuits against other businesses is irrelevant. (they have by the way over the past 30 years in NY).