'The former First Family was dealt a decisive blow in a New York courtroom on Thursday.' (photo: Getty)
Charles Pierce Esquire 18 February 22
The former First Family* was dealt a decisive blow in a New York courtroom on Thursday.
New York Attorney General Letitia James has most of the former First Family* halfway up the tree and, on Thursday, most of the former First Family* heard the branches creak ever louder. From CNN:
New York Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron issued his ruling the same day that he held a contentious two-hour hearing over the matter. The Trumps were seeking to quash the subpoenas from Attorney General Letitia James, while she was asking the court to order them to comply. On several occasions throughout the hearing, the judge expressed skepticism toward the Trumps' arguments that sitting for testimony in the civil investigation would undermine their constitutional rights…
"In the final analysis, a State Attorney General commences investigating a business entity, uncovers copious evidence of possible financial fraud, and wants to question, under oath, several of the entities' principles, including its namesake," Engoron wrote. "She has the clear right to do so.”
Not just evidence, but copious evidence. “Copious,” from the Latin meaning, “Busted, dude.”
Now, pending a useless appeal, which the former First Family* undoubtedly will lose, not only El Caudillo del Mar-a-Lago, but also his son, Sluggo, and Ivanka, will have to put their hands on the Bible and, assuming it doesn’t burst into flames on the spot, they will have to answer for a couple of lifetimes' worth of deceit. And they will do so full in the knowledge that, as AG, James has the power to dissolve corporate entities found to have engaged in widespread fraud. The desperation seems to have filtered down to their lawyers.
The former President also has filed a request to freeze James' investigation altogether, saying she's engaged in a political and selective prosecution and is improperly biased against him. The judge was skeptical of those arguments as well, pushing back on claims from Trump's lawyer Alina Habba that the attorney general was discriminating against Trump on the basis of his political views. Habba at one point said the attorney general's office should be asked whether it intends to investigate Hillary Clinton for supposedly spying on Trump Tower -- a reference to a recent legal filing in special counsel John Durham's investigation that has been mischaracterized by conservative media.
No, the rules of Fox News jurisprudence will not be applying to these proceedings.
It has been fascinating to watch all the scams and dodges that he’s used to build his fabulous career suddenly fall away, as all the phantom mechanisms driving that career become visible and, as a result, evaporate. The entire infrastructure of his life is crumbling. He presides over rubble now, the ruler of a kingdom made of bones.
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