Tish James Bak
bak capt 4 26
letitia426
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format? see bak --> 2 NRA corp death penalty // trump U/ trump fdn
MERRI OK
TARGET ENEMIES LIST?
SEE CHECKS BAL ~ IMPOUNDMENT 1ST CIRCUIT 3 26
vdare donors trust 4 26
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trms calls her tish?
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an 4 26 guk
The Guardian reports (https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/apr/11/strange-people-on-the-hill-michael-edison-hayden) a small West Virginia town is still trying to recover from becoming the face of white nationalism after a nonprofit selling “white replacement theory” and other conspiracies moved in and began flooding the internet with conspiracies.
Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, residents learned Peter and Lydia Brimelow — owners of the controversial online publication VDare (https://www.alternet.org/trump-big-promotion/) — bought property in the area in 2020.
“Critics (https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/vdare/) have accused the anti-immigration publication of being the genteel face of a constellation of white nationalist groups,” reports the Guardian. “… VDare’s arrival was flame to tinder in a town already navigating disagreements about the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter and Pride movements. Residents were divided over how, if at all, to react to the prospect of their town becoming an organizational nexus of the far right. Neighbors stopped speaking to neighbors, business partnerships fell apart, and people attacked each other on Facebook.”
Journalist Michael Edison Hayden said Peter Brimelow has been influential at spreading the idea of “white genocide,” the argument that white people are being deliberately replaced by non-white immigration.
“And he succeeded,” said Hayden. “At the Republican National Convention in 2024, people were holding signs calling for mass deportation. That is in part Brimelow’s legacy.”
Last year, the attorney general of New York, where VDare is registered as a non-profit, sued the nonprofit, accusing the Brimelows of using the non-profit for personal gain, under the argument that the Brimelow family might be living in the West Virginia castle they purchased, which would be a violation of non-profit laws. The other side of the legal fight is the company wants to keep their writers and donors anonymous.
“They appear to have purchased the castle with the help of around $4.5m in donations channeled through DonorsTrust, a group that bundles money from wealthy rightwing people and helps obscure the source,” said Hayden (https://www.alternet.org/racism-republican-party-nick-fuentes/White%20nationalist%20group%20flames%20out%20in%20W.%20Va%20after%20hometown%20unravels). “ … We’ll see how it plays out. But financially, I think it really is the end of the road for VDare. They were hiring lawyers, one after the other, and that just became extraordinarily expensive.”
But Hayden wonders if parties willing to use racism as a political weapon even have use for the organization, or is it already mission accomplished?
“Does the Republican party, or Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump), or any of these people, need VDare? They have all these online influencers, and at this point practically every MAGA politician has paid lip service to the great replacement theory. … VDare’s mission of making immigration a hot-button issue has succeeded in a way that may make VDare obsolete,” said Hayden. “Are younger people going to read VDare now? No. They’re watching Nick Fuentes (https://www.alternet.org/msn-uk/nick-fuentes-republican-party/). I’m sure before long even Fuentes will look like an older person in the eyes of some young radicals. … They are always thinking about the next thing – the thinkers, or talkers, who can help accrue power tomorrow.”
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AN 3 26
President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) is continuing his “improper revenge campaign” against New York Attorney General Letitia James — and she is fighting it actively.
“President Donald Trump’s top housing official Bill Pulte issued two new criminal referrals for New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday, attempting to revive the administration’s ongoing legal pursuit of one of his political opponents,” reported CNN on Wednesday, (https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/25/politics/bill-pulte-criminal-referral-letitia-james) adding that the referrals were sent to Illinois and Florida for “suspected homeowners insurance fraud.” The Justice Department confirmed to CNN that “referrals were received by our US Attorney Offices,” while James' attorney Abbe Lowell accused Trump of continuing his “improper revenge campaign instead of helping bring down the rising cost of living in this country.”
The lawyer added in a statement to CNN, “Frustrated by repeated failures, where judges and grand juries have rejected their attempts to charge Attorney General James, Trump and his political enablers keep abusing their power to pursue a vendetta against her by trying to rename, refile, and repeat baseless allegations. They continue this improper revenge campaign instead of helping bring down the rising cost of living in this country.”
Lowell also predicted that “these desperate tactics will fail — just as every previous attempt has failed — and exposes an Administration that has abandoned its responsibility to the American people in favor of petty political payback.”
Among the “previous attempts” mentioned by Lowell was an October indictment on one count of making false statements to a financial institution and one count of bank fraud. A judge dismissed that case after Trump’s appointment of interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan in Alexandria, Va. was deemed invalid. Other Trump prosecutions of his political enemies have also failed.
“This is how grand juries were meant to work,” UC Berkeley Criminal Justice Center Director Chesa Boudin and UC Davis Law Professor Eric S. Fish wrote (https://www.alternet.org/trump-grand-jury-2675265845/) in The New York Times about Trump’s failures to prosecute people he dislikes for political reasons such as James, adding that “a primary security to the innocent against hasty, malicious and oppressive persecution.” When U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie dismissed Trump’s attempted prosecution of another political enemy, former FBI Director James Comey, in November, she made it clear she had done so (https://www.alternet.org/letitia-james-dismissal/) because of the sloppy methods Trump used to prosecute the case.
“Because Ms. Halligan had no lawful authority to present the indictment, I will grant Mr. Comey’s motion and dismiss the indictment without prejudice,” Currie explained.
Dickinson College President John E. Jones III, a former federal judge, told The Conversation’s politics editor Naomi Schalit (https://www.alternet.org/trump-credibility-crisis/) that when grand juries reject Trump’s attempted prosecutions, they do so to defy an overreach of power.
“The grand jury would have to totally reject the whole premise of the case that’s being presented to them by the United States attorney because, remember, there are typically no witnesses appearing before the grand jury to dispute the facts,” Jones told Schalit. “The grand jury is clearly saying, ‘Even accepting the facts you’re putting before us as true, we don’t think under these circumstances this case is worthy of a federal indictment.’”
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an 3 26
Law and Crime reports a federal court of appeals upheld a series of lower court orders barring the Trump administration (https://lawandcrime.com/tag/donald-trump/) from enforcing a "sweeping and unprecedented categorical" spending "freeze.”
In one 58-page opinion (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/27886057-ny-v-trump-1cca/), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit took a group of "consolidated appeals" of several different orders and mostly rejected the White House’s argument in favor of continuing the freeze. Judges found the Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) administration’s arguments unconvincing in one case and utterly ignored the administration’s argument in another.
“In one order from March 2025, the lower court extended a pause on the spending freeze – enjoining myriad federal agencies from slashing funds and directing them to pay out ‘awarded grants, executed contracts, or other executed financial obligations,’” reports Law and Crime.
In an additional two orders from April 2025, the lower court enforced the preliminary injunction against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and then denied a reconsideration and stay requested by the Trump administration.
With this slate of decisions, the appellate court has joined a legion (https://www.alternet.org/defeat-mounts-as-another-judge-tramples-trumps-shameful-on-federal-workers/) of courts dismantling (https://www.alternet.org/trump-judges-courts/) President’s Donald Trump’s executive orders and policies, and it further complicates Trump’s effort to starve certain nonprofits and research.
One of the lawsuits against Trump, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleged the spending freeze violated several tenets of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), federal laws and the U.S. Constitution, which mandates the distribution of congressionally-appropriated funds.
James, who has won a landmark case against Trump for fraud (https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2024/attorney-general-james-wins-landmark-victory-case-against-donald-trump), welcomed the 1st Circuit's opinion.
"This decision is a clear reminder that the president cannot treat congressionally-approved funding like a switch he can flip on and off," James said. “For more than a year, the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to freeze critical funding that states rely on to serve their communities, and once again the courts have rejected that unlawful power grab."
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MMA
Laura Ingraham says the indictment of Letitia James is “like Christmas morning”
10/09/25
https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/laura-ingraham-says-indictment-letitia-james-christmas-morning)
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AN 10 25
A senior prosecutor in Virginia is reportedly preparing to decline a high-stakes directive to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), raising serious questions about political interference at the Justice Department.
MSNBC reported Monday (https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/news/top-prosecutor-trump-pressure-charge-new-york-ag-rcna235922) that Elizabeth Yusi, who leads major criminal prosecutions in the Norfolk office of the Eastern District of Virginia, has privately informed colleagues she finds no probable cause to charge James with mortgage fraud.
According to the report, she intends to formalize this view and present her reasoning to the newly installed acting U.S. Attorney for that district, Lindsey Halligan.
Halligan, a former White House aide and private attorney, replaced Erik Siebert (https://www.alternet.org/trump-james-compey-lindsey-halligan/)after President Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) publicly called for his removal, an effort sparked by Siebert’s reluctance to bring charges against James and former FBI Director James Comey. (https://www.alternet.org/james-comey-case-trump/)
Within the Eastern District, prosecutors anticipate potential reprisals against Yusi for resisting political pressure to pursue the James case. According to the report, her colleagues fear she could be dismissed for insubordination.
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Trump has publicly demanded that the Justice Department pursue criminal charges against James, even though long-serving prosecutors have concluded there is insufficient evidence to show that she lied or intended to lie in her mortgage application for her niece’s home, per the report.
In a post on his Truth Social platform Saturday, (https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115317676598981431) Trump called James “SCUM” and demanded she be removed as New York’s attorney general, citing what he characterized as her “WITCH HUNT against President Donald J. Trump, and others.”
Randall Eliason, former chief public corruption prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C., told MSNBC: “This supervisor clearly is doing the right and ethical thing by refusing to bend her legal conclusions to fit the president’s desire for political retribution.“
Eliason added that career prosecutors are being "forced to choose between honoring their oaths and risking their livelihood" and "forced out by the president’s politicization of the Justice Department.’”
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columbo coat pretty house BS
'Amateur hour': Trump official blasted over 'stunt' outside New York AG’s home
an 8 25
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5 25
retaliate real estate BS trump attack
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an 11 24
Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/public-citizen) feigned surprise on Wednesday over President-elect Donald Trump's nomination of Wall Street CEO Howard Lutnick to lead the U.S. Department of Commerce.
"Oh look, another billionaire has made his way into Trump's Cabinet," said the group, noting Lutnick is also a promoter of cryptocurrency and a Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) megadonor. "The conflicts of interest are almost too many to count."
Among the conflicts are Lutnick's involvement in the crypto industry and federal and state cases against Cantor Fitzgerald.
In addition to running the Wall Street firm, Lutnick is a banker for the "stablecoin" company Tether; purchasers receive a Tether token for $1, with the proceeds invested in reserves and Treasury bonds managed by Lutnick's Cantor Fitzgerald.
As Public Citizennoted (https://www.citizen.org/news/with-lutnick-pick-trump-adds-another-billionaire-scam-enabler-to-his-corporate-cabinet/), New York Attorney General Letitia James found in 2021 that Tether and another crypto firm "recklessly and unlawfully covered up massive financial losses to keep their scheme going and protect their bottom lines."
The company is also reportedly under federal investigation over alleged criminal violations of anti-money laundering rules and sanctions.
Public Citizen also said that while co-chairing Trump's transition team, Lutnick "may also have helped arrange a meeting between Trump and Coinbase chief Brian Armstrong," who "helped steer a record amount of political spending from the crypto industry into the 2024 election."
Crypto firms poured over $119 million into directly influencing the 2024 federal elections, Public Citizenfound (https://www.citizen.org/article/big-crypto-big-spending-2024/) in August, making the industry's spending second only to that of fossil fuel companies.
As Politico reported in October, even other members of Trump's inner circle have accused (https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/23/howard-lutnick-trump-transition-scrutiny-00184985) Lutnick of using his transition team co-chair position to take meetings on Capitol Hill and "talk about matters impacting his investment firm, Cantor Fitzgerald—including high-stakes regulatory matters involving its cryptocurrency business."
Lutnick's nomination, said former Labor Secretary Robert Reich, serves as a reminder that "Trump serves the oligarchy, not the people."
"Debris from crypto's political spending tsunami will jam up more halls in Washington than ever before if Lutnick is confirmed as secretary of commerce," said (https://www.citizen.org/news/with-lutnick-pick-trump-adds-another-billionaire-scam-enabler-to-his-corporate-cabinet/) Bartlett Naylor, a financial policy advocate for Public Citizen. "The president-elect, who once correctly called bitcoin a scam, now surrounds himself with even more crypto enablers. Cryptocurrency won't return good jobs to the heartland or reduce food prices; it will only thin the wallets of those vulnerable to a now government-legitimized con."
Government watchdog Accountable.US pointed to (https://accountable.us/accountable-us-statement-on-howard-lutnicks-nomination-to-serve-as-commerce-secretary/) more than $19 million in political donations Lutnick has made since 2009, nearly all of which went to GOP candidates and political action committees. He contributed $6 million to Trump's super PAC, Make America Great Again, Inc., in 2024 alone.
"Howard Lutnick's questionable qualifications to lead the Department of Commerce begin and end with his loyalty to the president-elect," said Accountable.US executive director Tony Carrk.
Tether isn't the only Lutnick-linked company that's been investigated for wrongdoing. The Securities and Exchange Commission fined (https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/sec-fines-cantor-fitzgerald-over-repeated-failure-identify-large-traders-2023-07-14/) Cantor Fitzgerald $1.4 million in 2023, saying the company repeatedly failed "to identify and report customers who qualified as large traders." The company also agreed to pay (https://www.bankingdive.com/news/sec-cftc-fine-11-banks-18b-in-record-keeping-probe/632870/) $16 million in fines to the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2022 for using unauthorized communication channels.
Should Lutnick be confirmed as commerce secretary, Accountable.US said a "major regulatory conflict" could arise due to a dispute (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-25/lutnick-lands-wall-street-giants-for-his-futures-fight-with-cme?leadSource=reddit_wall&sref=F7j0rXiB) between the BGC Group, a spin-off brokerage of Cantor Fitzegerald, and futures and commodities exchange CME Group, over a competing trading platform BGC Group is launching.
"Lutnick's company's violations resulting in financial regulator fines and millions in right-wing political donations shows that political devotion takes precedence over actual experience to do the job in Trump's Cabinet," said Carrk.
Trump campaigned as a champion of working people as he railed against high grocery prices. As The New Republicreported (https://newrepublic.com/post/188591/trump-billionaire-howard-lutnick-commerce-department-secretary)on Tuesday, Lutnick has showered Trump's plan for across-the-board tariffs with effusive praise—even as leading economists warn the plan to impose tariffs on foreign imports will pass higher costs onto consumers, not foreign countries.
"In September, Lutnick told CNBC that 'tariffs are an amazing tool for the president to use—we need to protect the American worker,'" wrote Edith Olmsted. "Lutnick also gushed about tariffs at Trump's fascistic rally in Madison Square Garden last month, claiming that America was better off 100 years ago, when it had 'no income tax and all we had was tariffs.' His high praise for tariffs came even as he admitted Americans would face higher prices as a direct result."
Lutnick's nomination, said (https://x.com/SenWarren/status/1859023215223599260) Sen. Elizabeth Warren (https://www.commondreams.org/tag/elizabeth-warren) (D-Mass.), "is a win for the billionaire class at the expense of working people."
"The across-the-board tariff plan," she said, "is a distraction from the MAGA scam to extend tax giveaways for giant corporations and billionaires like Howard Lutnick."
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AN 11 24
'Listen here, sweetheart': Possible Trump AG pick threatens NY’s Letitia James with 'prison' - Alternet.org (https://www.alternet.org/mike-davis-letitia-james-trump/) TISH J
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Donald Trump (https://www.alternet.org/2020/11/trump) is the first president-elect in U.S. history to win an election while awaiting sentencing on 34 criminal counts.
It remains to be seen what type of sentence Justice Juan Merchan will impose if the sentencing goes ahead as scheduled in late November. Meanwhile, special counsel Jack Smith's two federal cases against Trump were doomed when Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris (https://www.rawstory.com/tag/white-house) on Election Night 2024. And Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis' election interference/RICO case against Trump and a long list of allies remains in limbo.
During a Thursday, November 7 broadcast (https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-hosts-call-for-trump-prosecutors-to-face-death-penalty/) of Fox News' "The Five," two of the hosts — Greg Gutfield and Dana Perino — called for "the death penalty" for Trump's prosecutors.
READ MORE:'Listen here, sweetheart': Possible Trump AG pick threatens NY’s Letitia James with 'prison' (https://www.alternet.org/mike-davis-letitia-james-trump/)
Gutfield mockingly told his colleagues (https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-hosts-call-for-trump-prosecutors-to-face-death-penalty/), "A lot of the people that were on this and wanted it so badly, how are they going to survive? Do you think they need therapy?”
Perino responded, "Yes, they definitely need therapy, and maybe also the death penalty."
Gutfield agreed, saying, "Yes, I think the death penalty."
Some legal experts are recommending that Smith write final reports on both of his cases against Trump, putting them to rest before Trump's inauguration on January 20, 2025.
READ MORE:[Path forward' to Democrats winning may come sooner than you think: analysis
The Daily Beast's Grace Harrington points out (https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-hosts-call-for-trump-prosecutors-to-face-death-penalty/) that Trump, as president, will have the ability to parDon federal charges but not charges at the state level.
"There are currently ongoing state cases against him in New York, for giving hush money to a porn star, and in Georgia for election interference," Harrington notes (https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-hosts-call-for-trump-prosecutors-to-face-death-penalty/). "Trump cannot pardon himself for state crimes. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is prosecuting Trump's case in Georgia, just won reelection."
READ MORE:[How Garland’s 'truly historic legal missteps' let Trump dodge accountability
Watch the Fox News video and read Grace Harrington's Daily Beast article[at this link.
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Jim Jordan demands Letitia James turn over documents about prosecutor in hush money trial - Alternet.org (https://www.alternet.org/jim-jordan-letitia-james/)
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an 3 24
Former President Donald Trump is still seething at New York Attorney General Letitia James after losing his civil fraud case earlier this year. And if he's elected to a second term, his Department of Justice may throw the book at her.
Rolling Stone reported Wednesday (https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/trump-letitia-james-new-york-fraud-election-interference-1234994916/) that the ex-president's lawyers are planning a vengeance campaign against James in the event Trump gets elected in November and installs a far-right attorney general. Reporters Asawin Suebsaeng and Andrew Perez wrote that "Trump and his MAGA legal brain trust — many of whom are informally auditioning for roles in his potential second administration — are serious about keeping their vengeful options wide open."
"Letitia James is not going to get away with it," Trump attorney Alina Habba said on Fox News. "We will come at them. We will come hard and we will literally fight until the truth comes out. There was nothing wrong. President Trump has done nothing wrong. All he has done is won a campaign. And that is scaring them because they know when he goes back in November 2024, he is going to clean house."
READ MORE:Watch: Trump blames Letitia James for Exxon leaving New York for Texas — in 1989 (https://www.alternet.org/trump-letitia-james-exxon/)
In order to appeal Judge Arthur Engoron's verdict in the bench trial, the former president owed a bond of $464 million, which included the $355 million in penalties and statutory interest. But a New York Appeals Court recently reduced that bond to just $175 million, and gave Trump another 10 days to come up with the money (he'll still need to pay the full judgment amount if he loses the appeal). But despite the multiple breaks he's received since the verdict, Trump is still planning to prosecute James under a federal statute.
Suebsaeng and Perez reported that Trump is specifically aiming to prosecute the New York attorney general under 18 U.S. Code § 595, which prohibits state officials from using their "official authority for the purpose of interfering with, or affecting, the nomination or the election of any candidate for the office of President."
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti called the use of that statute a "non-starter," saying prosecuting James would be an "abuse of power" that would likely trigger impeachment hearings.
"James used her authority as Attorney General to enforce the laws of New York," Mariotti said. "To characterize that as ‘interference’ in an election raises obvious federalism concerns. It would essentially mean that state officials could not enforce any state law against an entity affiliated with a potential presidential candidate."
READ MORE:NY appeals court upholds Judge Engoron's ruling that Trump committed 'widespread fraud' (https://www.alternet.org/ny-appeals-trump-fraud/)
The Rolling Stone report pointed out that President Joe Biden could theoretically use that same statute to prosecute Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, given his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Suebsaeng and Perez also noted the irony of Trump complaining about "election interference," given his multiple documented attempts to interfere with the certification of election results.
"As it were, Trump has been charged in two criminal cases — one federal, one in Fulton County, Georgia — for actual election interference during his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden," they wrote.
Trump has made revenge the themes of his 2024 campaign. At his first official rally of the 2024 election season in Waco, Texas — the site of a deadly FBI raid on the Branch Davidian cult in the 1990s — Trump told the crowd he was their "retribution (https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4311194-trump-signals-revenge-in-second-term/)." He repeated that statement at the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference.
READ MORE:Trump owes almost $450M in judgments. Here's how much he'd get for selling his properties (https://www.alternet.org/trump-judgments-selling-properties/)
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Letitia James laid trap to keep Trump Org from fleeing the state: legal analyst - Alternet.org (https://www.alternet.org/letitia-james-laid-trap-to-keep-trump-org-from-fleeing-the-state-legal-analyst-2667298578/)
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Fox News’ Dana Perino attacks Letitia James for wearing makeup | Media Matters for America (https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-news-dana-perino-attacks-letitia-james-wearing-makeup)
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JUDGES SWATTED? JACK SMITH?
Newsmax guest says Judge Arthur Engoron swatted himself | Media Matters for America (https://www.mediamatters.org/newsmax/newsmax-guest-says-judge-arthur-engoron-swatted-himself)
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Watch: Trump blames Letitia James for Exxon leaving New York for Texas — in 1989 - Alternet.org (https://www.alternet.org/trump-letitia-james-exxon/)
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jugde rulled on fraud w/o trial?!
an 10 23 no lnx
Here’s the 'problem' with ex-Trump Org CFO’s $2 million severance agreement: analyst
Maya Boddie
October 12, 2023
Following former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg's testimony during ex-President Donald Trump's New York civil fraud trial Tuesday, MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin took to X (formerly Twitter) to share her knowledge of Weisselberg's severance agreement.
PBS reports New York Attorney General Letitia "James' lawsuit alleges that Weisselberg engineered Trump's financial statements to meet his demands that they show increases in his net worth and signed off on lofty valuations for assets despite appraisals to the contrary."
On Wednesday, Rubin wrote, "We learned yesterday that Allen Weisselberg's severance agreement will ultimately pay him $2 million by 12/31/24 if he fully complies. What I didn't appreciate is what he promised in return. To some extent, it's not atypical to require an employee to promise not to assist with others' claims. The problem here is context—and timing."
She continued, "Let's start with the fact that while Weisselberg left the company at the end of 2022 and the agreement contemplated his completing his work in good faith before that date, it wasn't executed by him until the literal eve of his Jan. 10, 2023 sentencing. And it wasn't signed by Alan Garten, the Trump Organization's chief legal officer, until Jan. 12, two days after Weisselberg entered Rikers."
Rubin added, "What's more, according to the payment schedule appended to the agreement, the Trump Org. did not start paying him until Mar. 31, 2023, well into his prison sentence and certainly after reports that the Manhattan DA was still investigating Weisselberg for insurance fraud. Now let's go back to his severance obligations. They include cooperating in an investigation or litigation against the company or Trumps by meeting with them in connection with 'discovery or pretrial issues' and providing "truthful testimony on behalf of Releasees. That means he was likely obligated to meet with them before his trial testimony."
She continued, "The severance agreement also entitles Weisselberg to be indemnified for any reasonable attorney's fees in any legal matter against him or the company--but there's some big catches. He can't hire a lawyer without the company's prior approval, and "to the extent there is no direct conflict of interest and at the election of the Company, [Weisselberg] shall be jointly represented by counsel for the Company. Put another way, if he wants his own fees paid, they get to decide who represents him and even force their own lawyers on him. But, of course, all of this pales in comparison to Weisselberg's commitment that except where forced by subpoena or other court-ordered process, he won't give information to anyone else with claims against the company and/or anyone he individually released (e.g., Trump)... or 'take any action to induce, encourage, instigate, aid, abet or otherwise cause" any person or entity "to bring or file a complaint, charge, lawsuit or other proceeding of any kind against the Company or any person or entity released by this Agreement."
Rubin concludes, "Read broadly, the agreement precludes Weisselberg from voluntarily cooperating with any law enforcement or prosecutorial agency in exchange for lenience as to other crimes for which he could be under investigation and/or ultimately charged. And yes, that might be the definition of unenforceable as a matter of public policy. But if you're Weisselberg, what incentive do you have to test that proposition when you have $2 million in severance, payable even if you die, riding on it? None. FIN."
READ MORE: Trump Organization gets 'corporate death penalty' after 'persistent fraud': legal experts
PBS' full report is available at this link.
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Judge slams banks’ request to hide 'millions' in business deals with Trump from public: report
Maya Boddie
August 29, 2023
Thirty-four days ahead of ex-President Donald Trump's New York civil trial for Attorney General Letitia James' " $250 million lawsuit filed against the 2024 hopeful alleging 'widespread fraud,' the banks and companies that lended the former president "millions of dollars for business deals" want to hide the proof from the public, The Daily Beast reports.
Per The Beast, Judge "Arthur F. Engoron, ruled that—aside from information like the home addresses of certain employees and bank account numbers—the public has a right to see the documents and communications."
According to the report, the judge said Tuesday that "he'd allow the companies to hide personal information, but he sided with the AG that most of the documents should stay in the open."
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?
Engoron wrote, “Here, the non-parties have failed to demonstrate a compelling interest in favor of wholesale sealing that outweighs the public’s right to access and the presumption in favor of open judicial proceedings."
The news outlet reports:
Some of these records form the backbone of [New York] AG Letitia James' $250 million lawsuit against the Trumps, purportedly showing how the real estate mogul and the family members he made executives got away with minimal scrutiny—by asserting fantastical financial numbers that weren't examined carefully. Had they been, auditors and loan officers would have realized that Trump was easily doubling and tripling the value of property to snag better bank loans and insurance policies.
"One employee who has already been publicly linked to the Seven Springs loan receives unwanted media inquiries every time the case appears in the news, which he finds 'disruptive and distressing,'" WSF Bank lamented, according to the report.
READ MORE: Letitia James’ $250 million fraud case against Trump set for trial: report
The Daily Beast's full report is available at this link (subscription required).
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1 mil$ fine, backed off
https://www.alternet.org/the-right-wing/letitia-james-trump/
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co paid max fine 1.5$m for tax fraud?
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salon an 1 23
The judge overseeing New York Attorney General Letitia James' $250 million civil lawsuit against former President Donald Trump said he is prepared to sanction his attorneys (https://abcnews.go.com/US/judge-considers-sanctioning-trumps-lawyers-ongoing-new-york/story?id=96254178) if they don't stop their bad-faith delay tactics.
Judge Arthur Engoron refused to dismiss the case against the Trump Organization for business and tax fraud, saying he was unmoved by the arguments repeatedly given by Trump attorneys Alina Habba, Christopher Kise and Clifford Robert.
Habba in particular has "found herself in this judge's sights, after repeatedly trading barbs with him in court in a manner rarely seen in the profession—frequently interrupting him on the bench, accusing him of unfairly siding against the former president, and making snide remarks about his law clerk," The Daily Beast's Jose Pagliery (https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-legal-strategy-of-annoyance-is-no-longer-working?ref=scroll) reported.
Trump's own legal team has quietly criticized Habba's behavior, urging her to cut the theatrics and save it for her many appearances on right-wing TV channels, according to the report.
Legal ethics scholars say it's unusual for legal proceedings to be this dramatic. New York University law school professor Stephen Gillers told The Daily Beast that a situation such as this is "quite rare."
"The lawyers have to worry not only about monetary sanctions, which may not be as much of a worry, but also court discipline that can lead to a public censure, license suspension or disbarment," Gillers said.
In an email to Trump's attorneys on Wednesday, Engoron said he "is considering imposing sanctions for frivolous litigation" over Trump's motion to dismiss the lawsuit. On Friday, he issued an order rejecting their request to dismiss the case, noting that a "sophisticated defense counsel should have known better."
Engoron made clear he is growing tired of the lawyers' delay tactics, writing in the email that "reading these arguments was, to quote the baseball sage Lawrence Peter ('Yogi') Berra, 'Deja vu all over again.'"
New York Law School professor Rebecca Roiphe told The Daily Beast thatTrump's lawyers' repeated claims are a "signal to the court that they are acting in bad faith."
"Courts do sanction lawyers when they believe the lawyers are abusing the courts in this way,"the legal ethics expert said.
While Engoron's email was a strong warning of what is to come, he did not explicitly name the lawyers or their possible punishment.
James celebrated the news in a statement on Friday, pointing out how Trump's delay tactics are nearing their end.
"Once again, Donald Trump's attempts to evade the law have been rejected," James said. "We sued Mr. Trump because we found that he engaged in years of extensive financial fraud to enrich himself and cheat the system."
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fdn back in news w/ AG James 200 pp on trump real est /fam
https://www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/fox-contributor-lara-trump-bloodthirsty-ny-ag-letitia-james-caused-children-die-shutting
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https://www.alternet.org/2022/09/trump-fraud/
The New York Attorney General has filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Donald Trump and three of his adult children, and his business, the Trump Organization, and others, according to CNN (https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/politics/trump-new-york-attorney-general-letitia-james-fraud-lawsuit/index.html), citing court records.
“The case docket indicates the defendants are Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Allen Weisselberg, Jeffrey Mcconney, The Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, The Trump Organization,Inc., and other businesses associated with Trump.”
Donald Trump, James says in her news conference, inflated his net worth by “billions of dollars,” and did so with the assistance of others named in her lawsuit.
NY AG Letitia James is holding a news conference slated to start at 11:30 AM ET, which you can watch live here (https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2022/09/watch-live-ny-ag-makes-major-announcement/).
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evasion subterfuge
https://www.alternet.org/2022/04/trump-2657202486/
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cody f
while the criminal investigations of former President Donald Trump often make the news with fresh developments, many of these revelations don't truly amount to much. On Tuesday, though, there was a significant exception to this pattern when multiple reports (https://www.alternet.org/2021/05/trump-grand-jury/) found that New York DA Cy Vance, who is working with the state's Attorney General Letitia James, has impaneled a special grand jury of his investigation of Trump and the Trump Organization. This suggests that serious charges may be on the horizon.
After the news broke, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, a longtime close observer of the president, explained how he will fight back against the investigations as it threatens to ensnare him or his interests.
"Trump is going to use talk of running again as a way to tar the Vance/James probes," she wrote on Twitter (https://twitter.com/maggieNYT/status/1397350059952549889?s=20). "From his latest statement in response to the grand jury being empaneled: 'Interesting that today a poll came out indicating I'm far in the lead for the Republican Presidential Primary…'"
He has already suggested that he intends to run for president again in 2024 (even as he insists that he really won in 2020 and thus should be president now.) It's one way he can maintain power in the Republican Party and at least some level of attention from the media.
But Haberman is right that dangling a run — genuine or not — can be helpful in his effort to tar the investigations that target him. As long as he remains a potential candidate, he can say that criminal charges are just an effort to keep him out of power by his political enemies. Of course, that won't make an indictment go away — but it will likely be a potent message for his fans.
Since many are already primed to believe the 2020 election was stolen from him, it's not hard to imagine the prospect of his facing serious criminal charges could inspire more dangerous and lawless actions from his supporters like those seen on Jan. 6.
In the case of Letitia James, the criticism that she's a political enemy of his does have some genuine force. She explicitly campaigned in 2018 on investigating Trump, and she has used her investigation of him to elevate her profile. Vance is a more complicated story though. A ProPublica (https://www.propublica.org/article/ivanka-donald-trump-jr-close-to-being-charged-felony-fraud) report actually found that Vance went easy on the Trump family as his office prepared to indict two of Trump's children in 2012. After Trump's lawyer Marc Kasowitz donated $25,000 to Vance, he reportedly overruled his own prosecutors and declined to bring the charges.
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https://www.democracynow.org/2021/5/7/headlines/new_york_ag_says_18_million_fake_comments_were_posted_in_support_of_2017_fcc_net_neutrality_repeal (https://www.democracynow.org/2021/5/7/headlines/new_york_ag_says_18_million_fake_comments_were_posted_in_support_of_2017_fcc_net_neutrality_repeal)
new York’s attorney general says the nation’s largest broadband companies funded a secret campaign to influence the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of net neutrality rules. Attorney General Letitia James said Thursday an investigation by her office found that in 2017, “The broadband industry hired marketing companies that co-opted and created identities and filed nearly 18 million fake comments with the FCC and sent over half a million fake letters to Congress in support of the repeal.” Supporters of net neutrality say protections are needed to preserve an open internet and to bar internet service providers from stopping or slowing down the delivery of websites.
TOPICS:
New York (https://www.democracynow.org/topics/new_york)
FCC (https://www.democracynow.org/topics/fcc)
Net Neutrality (https://www.democracynow.org/topics/net_neutrality)
Corporate Power (https://www.democracynow.org/topics/corporate_power)
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AP seattle times
The Office of the New York Attorney General said in a new report that a campaign funded by the broadband industry submitted millions of fake comments supporting the 2017 repeal of net neutrality.
The Federal Communications Commission’s contentious 2017 repeal undid Obama-era rules that barred internet service providers from slowing or blocking websites and apps or charging companies more for faster speeds to consumers. The industry had sued to stop these rules during the Obama administration but lost.
The proceeding generated a record-breaking number of comments — more than 22 million — and nearly 18 million were fake, the attorney general’s office found. It has long been known that the tally included fake comments.
One 19-year-old in California submitted more than 7.7 million pro-net neutrality comments. The attorney general’s office did not identify the origins of another “distinct group” of more than 1.6 million pro-net neutrality comments, many of which used mailing addresses outside the U.S.
A broadband industry group, called Broadband for America, spent $4.2 million generating more than 8.5 million of the fake FCC comments. Half a million fake letters were also sent to Congress.
The goal of the broadband industry campaign, according to internal documents the attorney general’s office received, was to make it seem like there was “widespread grassroots support” for the repeal of net neutrality that could give the FCC chairman at the time, Ajit Pai, “volume and intellectual cover” for the repeal.
The agency is supposed to use the comments it receives, from industry and public-industry groups and the public, to shape how it makes its rules.
The FCC did not immediately answer how or if it has changed its commenting process, but the acting chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel, said in a prepared statement that “widespread problems with the record” of the 2017 proceedings “was troubling at the time” and the agency has to learn and improve the commenting process.
The fake comments had high-profile victims. In 2018, two senators, Democrat Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Republican Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, said their identities were stolen to file fake comments for the net neutrality proceeding. “We were among those whose identities were misused to express viewpoints we do not hold,” they wrote to the FCC’s then-chairman, Pai, asking him to investigate the fake comments.
Many expect the FCC to try to reinstate net neutrality rules once a third Democratic commissioner is appointed. The agency is currently split half Democrat and Republican, which makes undoing the repeal unlikely.
Broadband for America’s website says its members include AT&T and Comcast as well as major trade groups for the wireless, cable and telecom industries.
The campaign hired companies known as lead generators which created the fake comments, but that the attorney general’s office had not found evidence that the broadband companies had “direct knowledge of fraud” and thus they had not violated New York law, according to the report.
Still, the report criticized the broadband industry group’s behavior as “troubling,” saying the campaign organizers ignored red flags and hid the broadband industry’s involvement.
The lead generators copied names and addresses they had already collected and said those people had agreed to join the campaign against net neutrality, the report said. One company copied information that had been stolen in a data breach and posted online.
The attorney general, Letitia James, also announced agreements with three of the companies that were responsible for millions of the fake comments, Fluent Inc., Opt-Intelligence Inc. and React2Media Inc., that require them to change practices in future advocacy campaigns and pay $4.4 million in fines. The companies did not reply to requests for comment.
The attorney general’s office and other law enforcement agencies are still investigating ″other responsible parties,” according to the report.
AT&T, Comcast and industry trade groups NCTA and USTelecom did not respond to questions.
Tali Arbel
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trump fdn broke law
an 920
Donald Trump’s son Eric, a major figure within the Trump Organization’s businesses, has claimed he told a court that he is willing to appear in compliance with New York Attorney General Letitia James’ subpoena.
But in a new briefing, James pointed out that Eric Trump and his legal team have in fact stated a “categorical refusal” to appear— and that one of those refusals occurred during an interview with Fox News Radio.
“Eric Trump’s own public statements after this proceeding was commenced confirm that position,” said the briefing, noting that during that interview, Trump said, “The question is… why would you possibly comply?”...
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https://www.mediamatters.org/national-rifle-association/after-ny-state-ag-files-anti-fraud-lawsuit-against-nra-conservatives
After New York Attorney General Letitia James initiated a lawsuit against the National Rifle Association that asks a court to dissolve the group, some right-wing media figures called her “partisan” and dismissed the move as “trying to score political points” in an election year. Others called for GOP attorneys general to retaliate against liberal groups in kind.
New York attorney general alleges the National Rifle Association engaged in years of financial mismanagement and fraud
New York attorney general filed suit to “dissolve” the NRA following an 18-month investigation into “fraud and abuse.”New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit on August 6 that looks to “dissolve the NRA in its entirety” and calls on organization leaders, including Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, to “pay back unlawful profits.” According to the 169-page lawsuit, LaPierre “spent millions of dollars of the NRA’s charitable assets for private plane trips for himself and his family.”
He also “repeatedly directed private aircraft to make additional stops” to pick up or drop off family members, “expensed over a hundred thousand dollars” on golf club membership fees, and attempted to purchase a $6.5 million mansion in Dallas, all allegedly funded by NRA donations. The lawsuit describes how the mismanagement went beyond LaPierre, alleging, “Directors or members in control of the NRA have looted or wasted the corporate assets, have perpetuated the corporation solely for their personal benefit, or have otherwise acted in an illegal, oppressive or fraudulent manner.” NPR, \8/6/20 (https://www.npr.org/2020/08/06/899712823/new-york-attorney-general-moves-to-dissolve-the-nra-after-fraud-investigation); People of the State of New York v. The National Rifle Association of America, [8/6/20 (https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/final_nra_summons_complaint_08.06.20.pdf)]
NBC’s Tom Winter: LaPierre and other NRA officials “have used this as a personal piggy bank, according to the attorney general.”During the August 6 edition of MSNBC’s MSNBC Live, NBC national security and justice correspondent Tom Winter explained that the complaint has “nothing to do with the NRA’s lobbying efforts.” Winter went on to describe how nonprofit organizations have to file expenses and operate in accordance with certain laws, and that the lawsuit alleges the NRA “failed their fiduciary responsibilities here, according to the attorney general, … and as a result, this organization cannot be run as a nonprofit organization anymore and it has to be dissolved.” MSNBC, MSNBC Live, [8/6/20 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3888366)]
Some in right-wing media rushed to dismiss the lawsuit as a political move in an election year
Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer calls James “one of the most partisan figures” who made “one of the dumbest, biggest mistakes” she can make in an election year.During the August 6 edition of Fox News’ Outnumbered, guest Ari Fleischer called James “one of the most partisan figures” who ran for attorney general “on an anti-Trump platform, an anti-Republican/conservative platform,” before calling the lawsuit “one of the dumbest, biggest mistakes” she could have made in an election year. Fox News, Outnumbered, [8/6/20 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3888356)]
Fox News host Laura Ingraham: James is “a complete and utter goofball socialist” who will “still have her security detail, I assume. The rest of you, you’re on your own.”
The Daily Wire’s Ben Shapiro: “This sounds…somewhat political.”
The Daily Caller: James is “trying to score political points.”
Newsbusters’ Tim Graham: “NY AG James sounds exactly like the NY Daily News with that NRA-is-a-terrorist-organization slime.”
Fox News host Sean Hannity: “It’s obvious this is political, we’re 89 days out of a presidential election. The timing to me, my read, is intentional.”During the August 6 edition of Fox News’ Outnumbered Overtime, Hannity called the timing of the charge “political” and “intentional.” Hannity went on to say he doesn’t “know anything about \the NRA’s] finances, but the timing of this stinks to high heaven to me and reeks of a political agenda.” [Fox News, Outnumbered Overtime, [8/6/20 (https://www.mediamatters.org/national-rifle-association/sean-hannity-says-anti-fraud-lawsuit-against-nra-reeks-political-agenda)]
Rush Limbaugh: “Gun sales are a record high right now ... here comes Letitia James.” During the August 6 edition of Premiere Radio Networks’ The Rush Limbaugh Show, host Rush Limbaugh played a clip of James announcing the lawsuit before saying “gun sales are a record high right now, and it makes perfectly understandable sense with all of the rioting and the lawlessness and the Democrats talking about defunding the police, here comes Letitia James and now a lawsuit against the NRA in New York state.” Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, [8/6/20 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3888341)]
Fox News correspondent: “Not a coincidence that the lawsuit was filed today, just a few months before the election.” During the August 6 edition of Fox News’ The Story with Martha MacCallum, correspondent David Spunt reported on the lawsuit, and said it was “a major political fight after this was announced today, especially just under three months away from a presidential election.” Spunt went on to say that it is “not a coincidence that this lawsuit was filed today, just a few months before the election. Incredibly political.” Fox News, The Story with Martha MacCallum, [8/6/20 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3888536)]
Fox News host Tucker Carlson: “If you wanted to short circuit Republicans in November’s election, you’d go after the NRA.” During the August 6 edition of Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight, Carlson said it’s “hard to overstate how third world this lawsuit is” and compared James to Russian dictator Joseph Stalin. He went on to say the NRA will now have to spend its money pegged for “helping Republicans” in the 2020 election cycle on legal fees and called the lawsuit a way to “short circuit Republicans” this November. Fox News, Tucker Carlson Tonight, [8/6/20 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3888546)]
Sean Hannity: This is a “bizarre, 170 paged, oddly timed” lawsuit. Fox News host Sean Hannity introduced the lawsuit as “bizarre” and “oddly timed” during the August 6 edition of Fox News’ Hannity. He questioned why James would file a lawsuit now when the city is also dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and rising crime and called it a “political attack.” Fox News, Hannity, [8/6/20 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3888561)]
Fox’s Laura Ingraham: The lawsuit is “political hit job and a warning shot to others who dare question the leftist authority.”During an interview with Rudy Giuliani, Ingraham called the lawsuit a “political hit job” and an attempt to “crush an influential conservative organization in an election year.” Giuliani agreed, calling James “a poor excuse for a lawyer” and the lawsuit “silly.” Fox News, The Ingraham Angle, [8/6/20 (https://www.mediamatters.org/media/3888571)]
Several conservative media figures suggested Republican attorneys general go after liberal groups in retaliation
Stephen Miller: “Planned Parenthood, you’re on the clock.”
One America News Networks’ Liz Wheeler: “Imagine going after the NRA but refusing to touch the Clinton Foundation.”
Conservative podcast host Derek Hunter suggested New York could nowdissolve the Clinton Foundation.
TheBlaze’s Leon Wolf suggested Republican attorneys general can now dissolve Planned Parenthood.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-10/exxon-climate-trial-loss-won-t-be-appealed-n-y-a-g-says (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-10/exxon-climate-trial-loss-won-t-be-appealed-n-y-a-g-says)
New York won’t appeal a ruling by a judge who rejected (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-10/exxon-prevails-over-n-y-in-climate-change-accounting-case) the state’s claim that Exxon Mobil Corp. (https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/XOM:US) misled investors for years about the oil giant’s internal planning for risks associated with climate change.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who took office after the suit was filed, announced the decision late Friday without giving a reason. James nevertheless hailed the trial in state court as a landmark -- “the first time in history” Exxon was forced to answer publicly for its messaging around climate change.
“As we have done for the last year, my office will continue to fight to ensure companies are held responsible for actions that undermine and jeopardize the financial health and safety of Americans across our country,” James said in a statement.
Read More: Exxon Says N.Y. Used Fraud Claims to Score Political Points (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-18/exxon-says-n-y-used-now-dropped-fraud-claims-to-score-headlines)
James’s defiance belies the decision by New York Supreme Court Justice Barry Ostrager, who rejected all the state’s claims.Exxon has never taken the economic impact of climate change on its business seriously, “and that truth was laid bare at trial,” she said.
In its securities fraud suit, filed in October 2018, New York accused Exxon of lying to shareholders about its use of a “proxy cost” for carbon in its internal accounting to prepare for future climate change regulations. That alleged lie suggested to the public that Exxon was being more prudent about climate risks than it really was, the state said.
Ostrager, in a 55-page ruling (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-12-10/exxon-prevails-over-n-y-in-climate-change-accounting-case) in December, said the attorney general’s office “failed to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Exxon Mobil made any material misstatements or omissions about its practices and procedures that misled any reasonable investor.”
Read More: Former Exxon CEO Says Climate Change ‘With Us Forever’ (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-10-31/exxon-s-former-ceo-says-climate-change-with-us-forever-more)
Irving, Texas-based Exxon previously accused New York of filing the lawsuit in a politically motivated attempt to target the company. That argument was bolstered on the final day of the trial when the state dropped its two most serious fraud claims against the company after failing to back them up with any evidence during the trial.
On Friday, a non-profit energy industry organization filed a motion to intervene in the case in an effort to unseal communications between the Attorney General’s office and a well-known plaintiffs lawyer who is involved in various lawsuits against the energy industry.
Energy Policy Advocates, based in Washington state, said in its filing that the lawyer, Matt Pawa, shopped around anti-Exxon litigation strategies in pitches to various AG’s office, including Massachusetts, which has also sued Exxon.
“Documents filed in this matter will shed light on the important ongoing debate about the propriety of the New York Attorney General’s actions in this matter,” the group said in its filing. “Regardless, they will show how such costly if failed litigation came to pass, or at least key influences.”
Neither the New York Attorney General’s office nor Pawa immediately responded to requests for comment on Saturday.
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cease and desist grift jnz televangelist covid
new York AG tells Jones to “immediately cease and desist selling and marketing products as a treatment or cure for the coronavirus” (https://www.mediamatters.org/coronavirus-covid-19/alex-jones-telling-his-viewers-toothpaste-he-sells-kills-coronavirus)
03/11/20 1:52 PM EDT
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10 bipartisan Attorneys General launch antitrust investigation against Facebook (https://boingboing.net/2019/09/06/dina-srinivasan-triumphant.html)
Attorneys General from Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and the District of Columbia, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James,have initiated an antitrust investigation into Facebook, seeking to determine whether the company "endangered consumer data, reduced the quality of consumers’ choices, or increased the price of advertising." Read the rest (https://boingboing.net/2019/09/06/dina-srinivasan-triumphant.html)
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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/us/nra-board-subpoena-letitia-james.html
Aug. 6, 2019
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With the gun debate intensifying in the wake of last weekend’s mass shootings (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/04/us/politics/gun-control-laws-mass-shootings.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fdanny-hakim&action=click&contentCollection=undefined®ion=stream&module=inline&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection) in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio, the National Rifle Association’s problems deepened Monday evening as the New York attorney general’s office issued a subpoena seeking documents from more than 90 current and former members of the organization’s board.
The subpoena is an escalation of a continuing investigation into the tax-exempt status of the N.R.A., which is chartered in New York, and engulfs the organization’s board of directors in the inquiry. The subpoena seeks financial records and other documents that would shed light on spending decisions made by the board.
The latest moves come in a year when the N.R.A. and its board have been in turmoil. Its finances and political machine are being strained (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/14/us/nra-finances-executives-board-members.html?module=inline) amid a host of legal battles (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/business/nra-nratv-lawsuit.html?module=inline), as well as a rebellion (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/us/nra-donors-wayne-lapierre.html?module=inline) from some donors and members and infighting that has led to the departures of the board’s president, Oliver North (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/27/us/oliver-north-nra.html?module=inline), and the N.R.A.’s top lobbyist and second-in-command, Christopher W. Cox (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/20/us/nra-lawsuit-wayne-lapierre-chris-cox.html?module=inline).
A spokeswoman for Letitia James, the New York attorney general, who opened the inquiry in April (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/27/us/oliver-north-nra.html?module=inline), declined to comment. Ms. James’s office has broad authority to investigate nonprofits, and has been scrutinizing whether the N.R.A. was using funds designated for charitable purposes appropriately, and if payments made to board members, officers and affiliated parties complied with relevant tax laws and fiduciary requirements.
Her office can pursue potential remedies in court; a previous inquiry by Ms. James’s predecessors led to the shuttering of President Trump’s charitable foundation (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/nyregion/ny-ag-underwood-trump-foundation.html?module=inline), a far smaller enterprise.
William A. Brewer III, the N.R.A.’s outside counsel, said in a statement: “As we understand it, counsel to the N.R.A. board accepted service of a subpoena to the board that relates to the production of documents and information.”
He added: “Such a request was expected and, as we have said many times, the N.R.A. will cooperate with any reasonable, good faith request for information given the organization’s commitment to good governance.”
The group is also facing a separate inquiry (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/12/us/nra-district-of-columbia-investigation.html?module=inline) by the attorney general for the District of Columbia, Karl A. Racine, who is focusing on the N.R.A. Foundation, a large affiliated charity chartered in Washington. Its ties to Russia (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/28/us/nra-russia-maria-butina-investigations.html?module=inline) have also been the focus of Congressional inquiries.
The latest development will apply new pressure to the board, which has largely but not uniformly supported Wayne LaPierre, the N.R.A.’s longtime chief executive, amid the recent power struggle that led to the departures of Mr. North and Mr. Cox. Last week, three board members who had opposed Mr. LaPierre’s management — Sean Maloney, Esther Schneider and Timothy Knight — resigned from the board. On Monday, the N.R.A. disputed a report on a gun blog (https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/do-nra-officers-and-board-members-still-have-insurance-coverage/) that its board had been dropped by the insurer who provides insurance against litigation, calling it untrue.
This year, a number of news accounts have raised questions about the N.R.A.’s spending decisions, many approved by its board. In March, The New York Times reported that Mr. North (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/11/us/nra-video-streaming-nratv.html?module=inline), then the board’s president, had a lucrative financial contract with the N.R.A.’s most important contractor, the advertising firm Ackerman McQueen. (Ackerman and the N.R.A. subsequently embarked on a bitter legal battle (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/business/nra-nratv-lawsuit.html?module=inline).) The Times also reported that the N.R.A. had directed $18 million to a production company in which an N.R.A. official, Tyler Schropp, had a stake.
The organization’s payment practices were further examined (https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/secrecy-self-dealing-and-greed-at-the-nra) in an April story in The New Yorker. And in May, leaks revealed that Wayne LaPierre, the N.R.A.’s longtime chief executive, billed $275,000 (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5997970-AM-LaPierre-Clothing.html) through Ackerman McQueen for purchases at the Zegna luxury men’s wear boutique in Beverly Hills and $267,000 in personal expenses (https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/5997968-AM-Letter-LaPierre.html), including flights and limousine service for trips to the Bahamas, Florida, Nevada, Budapest and an Italian lake resort. Payments made by the N.R.A. to its board members have also been an area of continuingscrutiny (https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/nra-money-flowed-to-board-members-amid-allegedly-lavish-spending-by-top-officials-and-vendors/2019/06/09/3eafe160-8186-11e9-9a67-a687ca99fb3d_story.html).
Ms. James’s inquiry has aroused the ire of President Trump, a key N.R.A. ally. He tweeted in April (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1122837541084958725?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1122837541084958725&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fpolitics%2Ftrump-blames-nras-woes-on-new-yorks-governor-and-attorney-general%2F2019%2F04%2F29%2Fc78cd2a0-6a65-11e9-a66d-a82d3f3d96d5_story.html), after the investigation was opened, that Ms. James and New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, whose administration is locked in its own legal battle (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/09/nyregion/nra-cuomo-insurance-lawsuit.html?module=inline) with the N.R.A., were “using the State’s legal apparatus to take down and destroy this very important organization.”
Ms. James’s office, in its own tweet (https://twitter.com/newyorkstateag/status/1122901049440968705?lang=en) later that day, wrote: “Attorney General Letitia James is focused on enforcing the rule of law. In any case we pursue, we will follow the facts wherever they may lead. We wish the President would share our respect for the law.”
Danny Hakim can be reached at hakim@nytimes.com.
==
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/06082019/exxon-climate-fraud-investigation-witness-pressure-investors-new-york-attorney-general
Prosecutors in New York are accusing ExxonMobil of trying to discourage potential witnesses from testifying about whether the oil giant misled investors over the costs it may face from future climate regulations. They asked a judge to block Exxon from making what they describe as "unreasonable" and extensive requests for documents from the witnesses.
On Thursday, Justice Barry Ostrager of the New York Supreme Court sided with the prosecutors, saying that Exxon "can't go on a gigantic, burdensome fishing expedition to exhume hundreds or thousands of documents that have no relevance to the issues in this case."
Court filings (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=weCXFZGO0IpZFl9K7eGbPw==&system=prod) show that Exxon sent letters to a group of investment advisers and shareholder activists who prosecutors want to put on the stand, informing them they will be subject to subpoenas from the company seeking documents relevant to the case if they choose to testify.
Because of their roles investing in and engaging with Exxon over climate change, these witnesses' testimony could prove critical to the state's case.
With opening statements scheduled to begin Oct. 23, a lawyer in New York Attorney General Letitia James's office wrote (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=weCXFZGO0IpZFl9K7eGbPw==&system=prod) that the request would "impose disproportionate burdens on these witnesses in a transparent attempt to discourage them from testifying voluntarily, and threatening to upend the trial schedule."
While prosecutors had agreed to allow Exxon to interview the witnesses before the trial, the company went further by sending at least one witness what the attorney general described as an expansive request for documents and communications, including "all documents concerning your oil and gas holdings" and more. Exxon wrote on July 30 that it planned to send (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=c2Oxvfeg8sWA7aOsJiLaJQ==&system=prod) documents requests to seven witnesses.
James issued a statement after Ostrager's ruling on Thursday saying, "We appreciate the court's very reasonable decision to deny Exxon's over burdensome fishing expedition, and look forward to making our case in court this fall."
Aaron Caplan, a law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and expert in legal ethics, said the letter from Exxon included in the court filing was unusually aggressive and tested ethical bounds, though he said Exxon could argue that it is simply being thorough in its defense.
"It tiptoes right up to the line of impropriety," he said. "And whether it crosses that line is up to interpretation."
Prosecutors argued that the requests would set off lengthy negotiations between the parties and onerous demands for document searches on the witnesses and their employers, with less than three months before a scheduled trial.
Exxon did not reply to requests for comment. But a lawyer representing the company wrote in a filing (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=c2Oxvfeg8sWA7aOsJiLaJQ==&system=prod) that the request for documents and communications "goes hand-in-hand" with pre-trial interviews of the witnesses, a step prosecutors had agreed to.
Why New York Is Suing
New York prosecutors filed the case against Exxon (https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24102018/exxon-climate-fraud-lawsuit-new-york-attorney-general-investigation-tillerson) last year, accusing it of defrauding investors by downplaying the costs it could face as governments try to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
At the heart of the case is the revelation that the company essentially kept two sets of books for how it estimated these costs, one that it shared with the public, and another that it used internally when assessing its investments.
The result, prosecutors allege, was that Exxon led investors to believe that it was being far more conservative about these future costs than it really was, thereby exposing the investors to greater risks.
The company has said (https://insideclimatenews.org/news/29082018/exxon-investor-fraud-investigation-climate-change-accounting-new-york-attorney-general-smoking-gun) the two figures were used for separate, legitimate purposes, and that it never misled anyone.
Exxon's Letters to the Witnesses
The latest tussle in court was prompted by a set of letters (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=h32AHs3yH4GyNsqFgAnFOQ==&system=prod) that Exxon sent to witnesses in early July, saying that if they decided to testify, Exxon would use a subpoena to seek documents from them.
The letter from Exxon that was included in the court filings says that the witnesses cannot be compelled to testify, but "nonetheless may be willing to testify." It says "please let us know" if you choose not to testify, and adds that if the witness does testify, "ExxonMobil is entitled to discovery concerning her relevant knowledge."
At least one witness, Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, an advocacy group dedicated to increasing corporate sustainability through shareholder engagement, received the specific document request. It asked for any documents related (https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/fbem/DocumentDisplayServlet?documentId=nOHJZgKfTFEYoTuekGjozg==&system=prod) to the witness's investments in ExxonMobil or other oil and gas companies, as well as documents related to the investment criteria for these holdings.
Exxon also asked for copies of communications with the attorney general's office discussing the case or climate change, and any communications with a list of lawyers, academics, advocacy groups and foundations that have supported climate change lawsuits against the oil and gas industry.
It's unclear how many witnesses have received the specific document request. Other witnesses either declined to answer specific questions about the requests or did not reply to inquiries.
Fugere said she expects to testify if she's called as a witness, though she declined to talk about her potential testimony or Exxon's demands for documents.
Attorney: 'It's Pretty Unorthodox'
Caplan said the wording of Exxon's letter to the witnesses would have been less questionable had Exxon simply issued subpoenas without the suggestion that the matter would disappear if witnesses chose not to testify.
"You can see where it could be interpreted as Exxon using a carrot and stick approach," Caplan (https://www.lls.edu/faculty/facultylistc-d/caplanaaron/) said. "If you're not going to be a witness, we don't need anything from you."
Annika Martin (https://www.lieffcabraser.com/attorneys/annika-k-martin/), a New York attorney who has squared off with BP over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill but is not associated with the Exxon case, said Exxon's letter appeared to be "aggressive and carefully calculated not to step over the line."
"It's pretty unorthodox to send a letter like that," she said. "I can't pin it on any rule it violates, but it is pretty clear what the intention is."
Published Aug. 6, 2019
PUBLISHED UNDER:
BUSINESS AND ACCOUNTABILITY (https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/business-and-accountability-0)
OIL/TAR SANDS (https://insideclimatenews.org/topics/oiltar-sands)
EXXON CLIMATE (https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/exxon-climate-change-investigation)
LITIGATION (https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/climate-litigation)
---
[https://www.alternet.org/2019/05/should-the-nra-fear-losing-its-nonprofit-status/](https://webbrain.com/brainpage/brain/y%20Philip%20Hackney,%20The%20ConversationMay%203,%202019%20More%20likely%20dangers%20include%20administrative%20hassles%20and%20fines.%20%20Oliver%20North%20sought%20a%20second%20term%20as%20president%20of%20the%20National%20Rifle%20Association.%20%20It%20was%20not%20to%20be.%20%20NRA%20first%20Vice%20President%20Richard%20Childress%20read%20a%20note%20from%20North%20aloud%20to%20thousands%20of%20the%20gun%20groupâs%20members%20at%20their%20annual%20convention%20in%20Indianapolis.%20It%20relayed%20news%20of%20the%20retired%20lieutenant%20colonelâs%20departure%20and%20raised%20the%20specter%20of%20an%20existential%20threat%20to%20the%20organization.%20%20As%20North%20had%20put%20it%20in%20a%20letter%20to%20the%20NRA%20board:%20âI%20am%20deeply%20concerned%20that%20these%20allegations%20of%20financial%20improprieties%20could%20threaten%20our%20nonprofit%20status.â%20%20Could%20they?%20And%20what%20did%20North%20mean%20when%20he%20expressed%20concern%20about%20the%20NRAâs%20ânonprofit%20statusâ?%20%20Iâm%20an%20attorney%20who%20has%20worked%20for%20the%20Internal%20Revenue%20Service%20on%20legal%20matters%20associated%20with%20tax-exempt%20organizations%20and%20a%20professor%20who%20studies%20nonprofit%20law.%20It%20strikes%20me%20as%20unlikely%20that%20the%20IRS%20would%20strip%20the%20NRA%20of%20its%20tax-exempt%20status.%20%20At%20the%20same%20time,%20I%20think%20itâs%20possible%20that%20the%20New%20York%20authorities%20investigating%20the%20group%20might%20remove%20officers%20and%20members%20of%20its%2076-member%20board%20of%20directors.%20There%20is%20even%20a%20slight%20possibility,%20as%20NRA%20CEO%20Wayne%20LaPierre%20warned%20in%20a%20fundraising%20letter,%20that%20New%20York%20authorities%20could%20cause%20the%20NRA%20âto%20shut%20down%20forever.â%20But%20I%20doubt%20it.%20%20The%20NRA%20and%20the%20IRS%20%20The%20NRA%20consists%20of%20multiple%20kinds%20of%20entities,%20including%20a%20political%20action%20committee%20and%20four%20affiliated%20charities.%20%20But%20its%20mainstay,%20which%20North%20led%20until%20this%20leadership%20showdown,%20is%20whatâs%20known%20as%20a%20social%20welfare%20organization%20under%20section%20501%28c%29%284%29%20of%20the%20tax%20code.%20%20There%20is%20no%20charitable%20contribution%20deduction%20for%20paying%20NRA%20membership%20dues%20or%20donating%20to%20the%20social%20welfare%20organization.%20%20What%20does%20tax-exemption%20do%20for%20the%20NRA%20then?%20Just%20like%20a%20charity,%20it%20generally%20doesnât%20pay%20taxes%20on%20the%20money%20it%20raises%20or%20earns.%20%20In%20exchange%20for%20that%20special%20status,%20the%20NRA%20must%20benefit%20the%20public%20according%20to%20a%20very%20broad%20definition.%20Advocacy%20and%20education,%20including%20about%20gun%20safety%20and%20gun%20ownership%20qualifies.%20The%20NRA%20must%20also%20submit%20mandatory%20paperwork%20to%20the%20IRS%20every%20year.%20%20There%20are%20a%20few%20things%20the%20NRA%20canât%20do%20as%20a%20nonprofit,%20too.%20It%20canât%20primarily%20benefit%20private%20individuals%20through%20excessive%20compensation%20or%20companies%20rather%20than%20the%20public.%20It%20canât%20make%20engaging%20in%20politics%20its%20main%20purpose.%20And%20it%20canât%20break%20laws,%20including%20campaign%20finance%20laws.%20%20Retaining%20tax-exempt%20status%20%20Northâs%20vague%20allegations%20could%20point%20to%20two%20primary%20matters%20that%20could%20run%20afoul%20of%20federal%20tax%20law.%20%20First,%20instead%20of%20being%20run%20to%20advance%20NRA%20missions%20like%20to%20âdefend%20and%20foster%20the%20Second%20Amendment%20rights%20of%20all%20law-abiding%20Americans,â%20he%20asserts%20that%20the%20group%20mainly%20enriches%20NRA%20executives%20and%20boosts%20the%20bottom%20line%20of%20Ackerman%20McQueen,%20an%20advertising%20company%20that%20runs%20the%20NRA%20TV%20video%20channel.%20The%20second%20is%20admittedly%20odd%20given%20that%20North%20was%20paid%20by%20Ackerman%20McQueen%20through%20a%20contractual%20relationship.%20%20Second,%20perhaps%20North%20is%20raising%20concerns%20related%20to%20media%20reports%20of%20allegations%20that%20the%20NRA%20illegally%20funneled%20millions%20of%20dollars%20in%20Russian%20money%20to%20Donald%20Trumpâs%202016%20presidential%20campaign.%20%20In%20the%20first%20instance,%20the%20IRS%20or%20the%20Tax%20Court%20â%20a%20forum%20that%20decides%20disputes%20between%20taxpayers%20and%20the%20IRS%20â%20could%20theoretically%20determine%20that%20the%20NRA%20overcompensated%20Ackerman%20McQueen%20or%20any%20of%20the%20groupâs%20top%20officials.%20In%20that%20case,%20the%20group%20or%20its%20officials%20might%20have%20to%20pay%20fines%20known%20as%20excise%20taxes%20for%20having%20received%20improper%20benefits%20or%20knowingly%20wasted%20or%20misdirected%20money.%20%20In%20the%20second,%20the%20IRS%20could%20theoretically%20determine%20the%20NRA%20was%20operated%20for%20an%20illegal%20purpose%20and%20revoke%20its%20tax%20exempt%20status.%20But,%20more%20likely,%20the%20IRS%20would%20seek%20assurances%20from%20the%20NRA%20to%20take%20appropriate%20corrective%20actions%20to%20ensure%20it%20doesnât%20serve%20as%20a%20conduit%20for%20foreign%20campaign%20cash%20again.%20%20%20%20%20%20The%20NY%20Attorney%20Generalâs%20office%20has%20launched%20an%20investigation%20into%20the%20National%20Rifle%20Association.%20Earlier%20this%20month,%20we%20filed%20an%20IRS%20complaint%20against%20the%20NRA%20about%20whether%20the%20organization%20was%20violating%20tax%20laws%20surrounding%20charitable%20organizations.%20https://t.co/lYdEJWzuko%20%20%20%20%20%20â%20Everytown%20%28@Everytown%29%20April%2029,%202019%20%20New%20York%20probe%20%20The%20NRA%20is%20headquartered%20in%20Northern%20Virginia%20but%20it%20has%20been%20incorporated%20as%20a%20charitable%20nonprofit%20in%20New%20York%20state%20since%201871.%20That%20empowers%20the%20stateâs%20authorities%20to%20oversee%20its%20operations.%20%20Its%20attorney%20general%20can%20remove%20nonprofit%20officers%20and%20directors%20found%20to%20have%20failed%20to%20ensure%20that%20their%20organizations%20follow%20the%20rules%20and%20behave%20in%20a%20financially%20sound%20manner.%20The%20stateâs%20attorney%20general%20can%20even%20shut%20down%20nonprofits%20that%20operate%20for%20improper%20or%20illegal%20purposes.%20%20The%20IRS%20hasnât%20indicated%20that%20itâs%20investigating%20the%20NRA.%20But%20New%20York%20Attorney%20General%20Letitia%20James%20has%20said%20her%20office%20is%20â%20without%20disclosing%20any%20details.%20While%20campaigning%20for%20her%20office%20in%202018,%20James%20vowed%20to%20scrutinize%20the%20gun%20group,%20saying%20âI%20will%20use%20the%20constitutional%20power%20as%20an%20attorney%20general%20to%20regulate%20charities,%20that%20includes%20the%20NRA,%20to%20investigate%20their%20legitimacy.â%20%20The%20NRA%20subsequently%20audited%20its%20contractors.%20When%20Ackerman%20McQueen%20failed%20to%20hand%20over%20all%20records%20requested,%20the%20NRA%20sued.%20The%20most%20prominent%20similar%20nonprofit%20probe%20to%20date%20scrutinized%20the%20Trump%20Foundation.%20Itâs%20being%20dissolved%20following%20a%20settlement%20with%20Jamesâs%20predecessor.%20%20You%20might%20be%20wondering%20why%20the%20NRA%20hasnât%20reincorporated%20in%20another%20state.%20While%20it%20could,%20that%20would%20be%20costly%20and%20complicated.%20Similarly,%20should%20the%20IRS%20ever%20question%20the%20NRAâs%20tax-exempt%20status,%20the%20NRA%20might%20choose%20to%20let%20it%20go,%20like%20the%20National%20Football%20League%20did%20in%202015.%20%20Even%20when%20nonprofit%20regulatory%20authorities%20detect%20improprieties,%20they%20try%20to%20avoid%20shuttering%20tax-exempt%20organizations.%20They%20recognize%20that%20most%20people%20who%20belong%20to%20and%20support%20those%20groups%20had%20nothing%20to%20do%20with%20the%20wrongdoing.%20Where%20possible,%20they%20punish%20wrongdoers%20without%20jeopardizing%20a%20nonprofitâs%20viability.)
no lnx
by Philip Hackney, The Conversation May 3, 2019
More likely dangers include administrative hassles and fines.
Oliver North sought a second term as president of the National Rifle Association.
It was not to be.
NRA first Vice President Richard Childress read a note from North aloud to thousands of the gun group’s members at their annual convention in Indianapolis. It relayed news of the retired lieutenant colonel’s departure and raised the specter of an existential threat to the organization.
As North had put it in a letter to the NRA board: “I am deeply concerned that these allegations of financial improprieties could threaten our nonprofit status.”
Could they? And what did North mean when he expressed concern about the NRA’s “nonprofit status”?
I’m an attorney who has worked for the Internal Revenue Service on legal matters associated with tax-exempt organizations and a professor who studies nonprofit law. It strikes me as unlikely that the IRS would strip the NRA of its tax-exempt status.
At the same time, I think it’s possible that the New York authorities investigating the group might remove officers and members of its 76-member board of directors. There is even a slight possibility, as NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre warned in a fundraising letter, that New York authorities could cause the NRA “to shut down forever.” But I doubt it.
The NRA and the IRS
The NRA consists of multiple kinds of entities, including a political action committee and four affiliated charities.
But its mainstay, which North led until this leadership showdown, is what’s known as a social welfare organization under section501(c)(4) of the tax code.
There is no charitable contribution deduction for paying NRA membership dues or donating to the social welfare organization.
What does tax-exemption do for the NRA then? Just like a charity, it generally doesn’t pay taxes on the money it raises or earns.
In exchange for that special status, the NRA must benefit the public according to a very broad definition. Advocacy and education, including about gun safety and gun ownership qualifies. The NRA must also submit mandatory paperwork to the IRS every year.
There are a few things the NRA can’t do as a nonprofit, too. It can’t primarily benefit private individuals through excessive compensation or companies rather than the public. It can’t make engaging in politics its main purpose. And it can’t break laws, including campaign finance laws.
Retaining tax-exempt status
North’s vague allegations could point to two primary matters that could run afoul of federal tax law.
First, instead of being run to advance NRA missions like to “defend and foster the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans,” he asserts that the group mainly enriches NRA executives and boosts the bottom line of Ackerman McQueen, an advertising company that runs the NRA TV video channel. The second is admittedly odd given that North was paid by Ackerman McQueen through a contractual relationship.
Second, perhaps North is raising concerns related to media reports of allegations that the NRA illegally funneled millions of dollars in Russian money to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
In the first instance, the IRS or the Tax Court – a forum that decides disputes between taxpayers and the IRS – could theoretically determine that the NRA overcompensated Ackerman McQueen or any of the group’s top officials. In that case, the group or its officials might have to pay fines known as excise taxes for having received improper benefits or knowingly wasted or misdirected money.
In the second, the IRS could theoretically determine the NRA was operated for an illegal purpose and revoke its tax exempt status. But, more likely, the IRS would seek assurances from the NRA to take appropriate corrective actions to ensure it doesn’t serve as a conduit for foreign campaign cash again.
The NY Attorney General’s office has launched an investigation into the National Rifle Association. Earlier this month, we filed an IRS complaint against the NRA about whether the organization was violating tax laws surrounding charitable organizations. https://t.co/lYdEJWzuko
— Everytown (@Everytown) April 29, 2019
New York probe
The NRA is headquartered in Northern Virginia but it has been incorporated as a charitable nonprofit in New York state since 1871. That empowers the state’s authorities to oversee its operations.
Its attorney general can remove nonprofit officers and directors found to have failed to ensure that their organizations follow the rules and behave in a financially sound manner. The state’s attorney general can even shut down nonprofits that operate for improper or illegal purposes.
The IRS hasn’t indicated that it’s investigating the NRA. But New York Attorney General Letitia James has said her office is – without disclosing any details. While campaigning for her office in 2018, James vowed to scrutinize the gun group, saying “I will use the constitutional power as an attorney general to regulate charities, that includes the
---
NY AG james after trump?
3/19
NY Sues Sackler Family, Purdue & Other Drug Cos. for Profiting from Opioid Crisis (https://www.democracynow.org/2019/3/29/headlines/ny_sues_sackler_family_purdue_other_drug_cos_for_profiting_from_opioid_crisis)
New York state announced a sweeping lawsuit against members of the Sackler family, the owner of Purdue Pharma, which makes OxyContin, the highly addictive drug at the center of the opioid epidemic. New York Attorney General Letitia James accused the Sacklers of masterminding a scheme that “literally profited off of … suffering and death.” This is Letitia James speaking at a press conference Thursday.
Attorney General Letitia James: “And as Purdue sold more and more opioids, the Sackler family transferred more and more and more wealth to their personal accounts. And as the lawsuits have piled up against the Sackler family and Purdue for their roles in this crisis, they continue to move funds into trusts and, yes, offshore accounts.”
Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family are facing multiple lawsuits. A group of over 500 cities, counties and Native American tribes filed a lawsuit against the Sacklers last week, accusing them of lying about the dangers of OxyContin and deceitful marketing of the drug. The New York suit names five other opioid manufacturers, including Johnson & Johnson and Israeli company Teva.
==
==
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14092018/letitia-james-new-york-attorney-general-primary-exxon-investigation-divestment-fossil-fuels-climate-change
Letitia James, who led a fossil fuel divestment campaign as New York City's public advocate and has a history of speaking out on environmental justice issues, won the Democratic nomination for state attorney general, making her the favorite to win New York's top law enforcement job.
In her victory speech, James, who is a lawyer and the first African-American woman to win a statewide primary contest in New York, vowed to continue the multi-front litigation agenda. The winner will take charge of the office's high-profile investigation into whether ExxonMobil misled investors (https://insideclimatenews.org/news/04042018/climate-change-fossil-fuel-company-lawsuits-timeline-exxon-children-california-cities-attorney-general) about climate change risks. It also has been at the vanguard of blue-state challenges to the Trump Administration's attempts to roll back environmental protections and favor fossil fuel development.
This campaign was never really about me or any of the candidates who ran," she said. (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/13/nyregion/letitia-james-attorney-general.html) "It was about the people, but mostly it was about that man in the White House who can't go a day without threatening our fundamental rights." Aside from climate and environmental issues, New York has led lawsuits against the Trump administration over immigration policy, and health care (https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2018/07/26/ny-ag-leads-coalition-suing-trump-administration-over-obamacare-rule/?slreturn=20180814102821).
Her opponent in November will be Republican Keith Wofford, managing partner of the New York office of an international law firm focused on business and finance, who has the handicap of the Democrats' 2-to-1 (https://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/enrollment/county/county_apr18.pdf) registration edge over the GOP in New York. Wofford has been critical of the Exxon case and said he
(https://youtu.be/MYtNtAh7XZE) why he would pursue it as attorney general.
Divestment, Exxon and 'Sheriff on Wall Street'
James came out in support of divesting the city's pension funds from fossil fuel businesses in 2015 (https://pubadvocate.nyc.gov/news/articles/pa-james-announces-support-fossil-fuel-divestment) and helped organize a public hearing on the issue in New York City last November. After New York Mayor Bill de Blasio won re-election, he announced a commitment (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/10/nyregion/new-york-city-fossil-fuel-divestment.html) to move forward with divestment, (https://insideclimatenews.org/news/10012018/new-york-city-divest-sued-big-oil-climate-change-costs-exxon-chevron-bp-shell-mayor-deblasio)a process expected to take years.
But alongside her bona fides with the climate movement, James also has garnered support with the Democratic party establishment. With a campaign war chest of more than $1 million, she was the top fundraiser in the four-way primary race and had the endorsement of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Her opponents tried to paint her as too close to the party establishment, but she was able to capture more than 40 percent of the vote. Cuomo bested his primary challenger, actor-turned-progressive activist Cynthia Nixon, by more than 30 points.
How she would handle the Exxon case is also unclear. James' office did not immediately answer a request for comment on her position on the case. Neither she nor her opponents were pressed on the issue during the campaign, although James' closest rival, law professor Zephyr Teachout, pledged to continue the case at one of the candidates' debates. (https://www.mnn.org/sites/default/files/ag_debate_transcript.output.pdf)
James drew harsh criticism (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/14/nyregion/sheriff-wall-street-letitia-james-attorney-general.html) from her opponents during the campaign when she told The New York Times that it was "critically important" that she "not be known as the 'Sheriff on Wall Street,'" a moniker that former New York Attorney General and Gov. Eliot Spitzer had embraced. Wall Street firms have been urging (https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/15/business/wall-street-law-hank-greenberg.html)lawmakers to weaken New York's tough shareholder protection law (https://insideclimatenews.org/news/10112015/peabody-coal-climate-change-settlement-new-york-ag-exxon-subpoena-investigation), the Martin Act, which is an important weapon in the state's securities fraud case against Exxon.
Future of the Exxon Investigations
New York launched its probe of Exxon in 2015 under then-Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. After Schneiderman resigned (https://insideclimatenews.org/news/09052018/new-york-attorney-general-eric-schneiderman-assualt-allegations-resigned-exxon-climate-investigation-environment-lawsuits) earlier this year in a sexual harassment scandal, acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood pushed forward with the investigation, and in October filed a lawsuit (https://insideclimatenews.org/news/24102018/exxon-climate-fraud-lawsuit-new-york-attorney-general-investigation-tillerson).
The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office has a similar investigation into Exxon underway.
The political action committee 350 Action, which did not endorse a candidate for attorney general but backed Nixon (https://350action.org/press-release/endorsement-cynthia-nixon/) in the governor's race, saying Nixon embraced a more ambitious climate plan, was measured in its response to James' victory.
"As attorney general, she would have an immense responsibility to ratchet up investigations into all that Exxon knew about climate change," said Lindsay Meiman, a spokesperson for the grassroots activism group and native New Yorker. "As hurricanes batter the east coast, New Yorkers need an attorney general who will make sure it's fossil fuel billionaires—not our communities—who bear the costs of climate destruction."
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CLIMATE CHANGE (https://insideclimatenews.org/topic/climate-change)
EXXON CLIMATE (https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/exxon-climate-change-investigation)
ELECTION 2018 (https://insideclimatenews.org/tags/election-2018)
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