New York Attorney General Responds to Donald Trump's Remarks, 'Show is Over'

Former President Donald Trump is being sued for $250 million in civil fraud by New York Attorney General Letitia James. James has emerged as a formidable force in the trial, unwaveringly motivated to protect the law and hold Trump accountable for financial wrongdoing. She has declared that "the Donald Trump show is over."

As Trump exited the courtroom in the middle of Wednesday's proceedings, he shouted against James and the trial itself, calling it "rigged" and complaining that it was keeping him off the campaign trail, per The Guardian. James, an African-American woman, has had to manage not only the difficulties of this high-profile case but also Trump's personal assaults. She called the assaults "offensive, they were baseless, they were void of any facts or of any evidence." She stated, "What they were, were comments that unfortunately fomented violence, comments that I would describe as race-baiting, comments unfortunately that appeal to the bottom of our humanity.

"I will not be bullied," Letitia James declared, delivering a clear message that no one, not even a former president, is above the law. "This case was brought simply because it was a case where individuals have engaged in a pattern and practice of fraud," she said. "I will not sit idly by and allow anyone to subvert the law."

James criticized Trump's plan to attend the first days of the trial, calling it "a political stunt, a fund-raising stunt." Trump, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, characterized the case as a partial plot to thwart his political goals. However, James has continually stated that the purpose of this lawsuit is to expose a pattern of financial deception and wrongdoing.

The lawsuit asserts that Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Jr., and other officials misrepresented the worth of their real estate assets in order to gain better bank loans and insurance terms. James is seeking not only $250 million in penalties but also the removal of Trump and his sons from the Trump Organization's administration.

The trial's presiding judge, Arthur Engoron, dealt a severe blow to Trump's defense by concluding that Trump and his associates had misled tax collectors, lenders, and insurers for years. This plan, which reportedly inflated the worth of their assets by billions of dollars, resulted in the revocation of business licenses for several Trump Organization buildings in New York.

Trump filed a formal appeal against Engoron's verdict in response to these legal defeats. However, this development does not signal the end of the trial. Judge Engoron issued a limited gag order to Trump on Tuesday after he criticized one of the judge's law clerks in a social media post, per CNBC News. Engoron made it clear that personal attacks on court personnel would not be accepted, ordering all parties to refrain from blogging, emailing, or publicly speaking about court personnel.