The Left has twisted the law to go after Trump. A judge in New York has ordered Trump to pay a $355 million fine for what is alleged to be "fraud", and also placed a ban on Trump doing business in the state for 3 years, something that is very inconvenient since Trump runs a business managing large real estate holdings in New York. Maybe the Left doesn't realize that they are only driving more business out of New York. When you throw out rule of law, people with money who make big investments in businesses don't want to be there or take the risks. Some view this not as just the state targeting Trump specifically, but part of a much wider anti-business climate that exists in New York. Shark Tank reality TV star and investor Kevin O'Leary has said that he will never invest in New York after he heard about what the courts in the state did to Trump. The way he describes it, it really seems like he is more concerned about the possible future risk to his investments and the climate of disrespect for personal property rather than acting out of political motives. O'Leary issued his warning to real estate investors following the decision by Judge Arthur Engoron. "This award, I mean, just leaving the whole Trump thing out of it and seeing what occurred here ... And I'm no different than any other investor, I'm shocked at this." "I can't even understand or fathom the decision at all. There's no rationale for it." O'Leary said New York was "already a loser state", citing policy, high taxes and uncompetitive regulation as primary reasons. "It was already on the top of the list of being a loser state. I would never invest in New York now," O'Leary said. "And I’m not the only person saying that." New York Governor Kathy Hochul, trying to reassure investors, made a statement seeming to insinuate that the state was only doing this to specifically target Trump. Asked if businesspeople should be worried that if prosecutors could "do that to the former president, they can do that to anybody", Hochul said: "Law-abiding and rule-following New Yorkers who are businesspeople have nothing to worry about because they’re very different than Donald Trump and his behavior." She added that the fraud case against Trump resulted from "really an extraordinary, unusual circumstance". Fox Business News asked O'Leary what he thinks about Governor Kathy Hochul's attempted assurances to New York business owners. "We're very worried, every investor is worried because where is the victim? Who lost the money? This is some arbitrary decision a judge made," O'Leary responded. "This policy … what does this say about the bar? About the legal bar in New York? Aren't they going to question this judge? What is this?" "I'm sorry her words fall on deaf ears to everybody," he added. "There's nothing she can say to justify this decision. And this has nothing to do with Trump, nothing to do with Trump. Forget about Trump, this is not a Trump situation, this is a New York problem." New York governor seeks to quell business owners’ fears after Trump ruling, by Edward Helmore, The Guardian, Feb 18, 2024 Kevin O'Leary says he will no longer invest in 'loser' New York after Trump verdict, by Miranda Nazzaro, Feb 19, 2024 Millionaire investor Kevin O'Leary made some eye-opening remarks during an interview with "CNN This Morning". O'Leary is famous for his tenure on the hit ABC series "Shark Tank". After he called New York State "uninvestable", the hosts of the CNN talk show asked O'Leary to elaborate. "I had a project in upstate New York behind the grid in Niagara Falls for electricity -- a global data center we were building. Eventually, it got so bad with the politicians in the local region and the state policy, we moved it to Norway... and all the jobs. Norway has it now. Thousands of jobs coming out of that! That's New York. Uninvestable." O'Leary added "Sorry, don’t shoot the messenger. Just telling you the way it is." 'Shark Tank' Celeb Rips Falls on CNN, calling Us "Uninvestable", The Niagara Reporter, Ken Consentino, March 10, 2023
related thread: In regards to Mar-A-Lago Price tag and Trumps fraud "trial". (posted by Kal'Stang in Political Opinions & Beliefs, March 1, 2024)
You mean when you throw IN the rule of law? If you plan to commit fraud, then you need to choose more fraud-friendly States, like Alabama or Louisiana.
If real fraud was actually committed. If, on the other hand, it is in actually more of an attempt to take something that was not so much really blatant fraud and contort the law to interpret it as "fraud", then I would correct. (Never mind the gross excessiveness with which the judge decided to mete out punishment for the alleged offense)
Fraud is pretty straight forward, and Trumps actions are a textbook example. Fraud = Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain. Time after time he went to financial institutions and lied through his teeth in order to deceive the lenders to give him better terms.
