By Richard Manning
The various cases against former president Donald Trump by Democratic prosecutors in New York City, Fulton County, Ga., Miami and Washington, D.C. provide a clear view into the destruction of the rule of law by the left and its inevitable and intended future impact.
Three of those cases, two in New York City, and the other in Georgia have been getting some attention, but each reveals in their own way how political prosecutors and a runaway civil jury can use their positions to end any semblance of the expectation that the rule of law will be equally and equitably applied.
The Attorney General of the state of New York received a bench ordered judgment of $355 million — an excessive fine almost certainly in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments — against former president Trump. Under New York state law, President Trump is required to match the verdict amount in a bond, meaning he will have to either borrow, paying Biden-level interest rates, or sell his assets to come up with the cash in order to appeal the verdict. In fact, some analysts actually total the fine amount to $463 million when interest is taken into account.
The Attorney General alleged that Trump fraudulently obtained loans from banks by overvaluing his properties and it was this contention which led to the judgment.
The facts were that the banks which were supposed defrauded, conducted their own analysis of the value of the properties which were being refinanced, and made independent judgments related to their values and made loans accordingly. The banks also testified that they had been repaid the loans with interest and wanted to continue doing business with the Trump Organization.
No one was defrauded. Except Donald Trump and the people of the state of New York.
The Guardian reported that in the immediate aftermath of the judgment, New York’s Governor, Kathy Hochul, tried to assure business leaders in the state that this was an anomaly, because… uh… Trump.
In fairness, not that any semblance of that was provided the former president, here is what the Guardian actually wrote, “Asked if businesspeople should be worried that if prosecutors could ‘do that to the former president, they can do that to anybody’, Hochul said: ‘Law-abiding and rule-following New Yorkers who are businesspeople have nothing to worry about because they’re very different than Donald Trump and his behavior.’”
The fallout from real estate developers and others who invest in New York businesses has been swift with Fox Business interviewing Cardone Capital head Grant Cardone telling his team that, “when that ruling happened, it was like pencils down. Don’t touch it. Don’t go there.”
One of the fundamental strengths of America is the concept of equal protection under the law, and when one judge in one state decides that he can confiscate the wealth of someone because their politics don’t match, it effectively breaks the economic bonds which tie the states together.
Donald Trump was the President. He had his banking records scoured by special counsels. He had his personal attorney-client privilege breached and all of his legal conversations with his attorney examined, and they could not find anything to charge him with. Almost a miracle, a developer in New York and New Jersey who was clean. Everyone knows this. And yet, Donald Trump now faces potential financial ruin in a case where the supposed victim testified under oath that not only did they not suffer harm, but in fact profited from the relationship.
American jurisprudence in 2024 makes Venezuela’s criminal justice system blush from embarrassment.
The Fulton County, Ga. District Attorney is also engaged in an on-going case against Donald Trump and his attorneys applying state RICO laws normally used against organized crime to the former President’s effort to challenge the validity of the 2020 election in Georgia.
Fulton County was the site infamous false water leak (see this link for the November 3 report on the water leak) at the central counting location which was used to close the facility to observers. The counting was caught on camera once the legally required observers were dispatched.
Rest assured, the county election officials looked into the situation and reported that there was nothing to see or be concerned about.
The book “Malfeasance” by Andrew Wierenga outlines what happened that night which largely reflects what was reported in real time by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Subsequently, those who complained about how vote counting was conducted at the State Farm Arena, including the Trump legal team, have been subjected to the RICO investigation.
This case is not about election integrity, and in the long-view it is not about Donald Trump. It is about whether a candidate and his or her legal team can challenge an election. Knowing that a challenge can result in bankruptcy, disbarment and reputational destruction will dissuade all but the strongest willed attorneys to run away from filing any accusations of election tampering, no matter how valid they might appear.
Want to steal an election? If you are on the left, just elect a political prosecutor in a heavily Democratic county and use taxpayer funds to destroy anyone who dares call foul.
The third case involves the George Soros funded Manhattan District Attorney, who is bringing charges that former President Trump violated federal election laws. Now, this may seem odd that a local prosecutor is bringing forward charges over which his office has no jurisdiction, but this is the brave new world where anything goes because… Trump.
On April 4, 2023, the date President Trump was arraigned, I issued a media statement saying, “Today is one of the historic lows for America’s judicial system, a day when politics trumped justice as Americans overwhelmingly have come to the realization that Lady Justice is no longer blindfolded. In spite of the circus in New York City today, America is still a great country and Americans need to get on our knees and pray for God’s blessing moving forward.”
The case itself is about whether or not Trump should have reported alleged payments to a pornography worker named Stormy Daniels as campaign expenditures. The Federal Election Commission, which has jurisdiction over federal campaign reporting, decided not to pursue the issue, but local prosecutor Alvin Bragg jumped into the fray manufacturing 34 counts against Trump claiming felony corporate bookkeeping.
The New York City trial will begin in late March, and given the evidence free nature of the system demonstrated in the aforementioned and just completed “no one was defrauded but you’re guilty anyway, pay $355 million shakedown” case in the City Where Only Justice Sleeps, there can be little expectation for acquittal.
After all, when it comes to Trump and the “law” in places like New York, Atlanta and Washington, D.C., Lady Justice’s blind-fold has been torn off and her arms have been bludgeoned with the balanced scales she once held lying shattered on the ground.
Don’t worry, because … Trump.
Rick Manning is the President of Americans for Limited Government.
