Holding Donald Trump Accountable
David R. Jones, The Urban Agenda
The term “Poetic Justice” best describes what occurred earlier this month in New York State Supreme Court.
Based on a lawsuit filed three years ago by New York State Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James against Donald Trump and number of his companies for engaging in financial fraud and illegal conduct, the court ordered Mr. Trump to pay $454 million ($355 million in penalties plus interest) to the state and prevented him from serving as an officer, or applying for any loans, for a New York corporation for three years.
Even for the self-styled billionaire real estate titan and former U.S. President -- who I should note is paying multiple lawyers to defend him in the face of 91 felony charges in New York, Washington DC and Atlanta – the fine imposed by the court is no drop in the bucket. Indeed, critics and political pundits alike surmise that the nearly half a billion dollar penalty from the civil fraud case brought by the AG could spell the demise of not only the former president’s narcissistically honed image as one of the world’s elite businessmen, but his financial empire as well.
After the court handed down its ruling on February 16, Attorney General James issued this statement: “When powerful people cheat to get better loans, it comes at the expense of honest and hardworking people. Everyday Americans cannot lie to a bank to get a mortgage to buy a home, and if they did, our government would throw the book at them. There simply cannot be different rules for different people. Now, Donald Trump is finally facing accountability for his lying, cheating, and staggering fraud. Because no matter how big, rich or powerful you think you are, no one is above the law.”
Well said. “No one is above the law.” That includes Donald Trump. And make no mistake, he is seething over this ruling.
That’s because he is obsessed with his net worth, and this case could well see properties emblazoned with the Trump name sold off like prized possessions at a fire sale. Trump is also acting increasingly desperate under the onslaught of criminal charges he faces that could land him in prison. How desperate? Well, since Justice Arthur Engoron handed down his ruling, Trump has been using this defeat in fundraising pleas to donors, installed his daughter-in-law as co-chair of the Republican National Conference to make it easier to raid its funds to pay his legal expenses, and recently began hawking “Trump Sneakers” at $400 a pop.
Still, the real reason Trump is fuming over the civil fraud case is not just the considerable amount of money he will have to part with, but also because of who brought the case against him.
To appreciate my meaning, you have to remember the contempt Donald Trump has shown toward the Black and brown community since he first surfaced in the public eye. It goes back to 1973, when the Trump Management Inc. was charged with violating the Fair Housing Act for its policies of refusing to rent apartments to Black and Latino families at its residential buildings in Brooklyn and Queens. Both he and his father, Fred Trump, were named defendants in the government case. This was during the Nixon Administration. Think about that. So egregious was Trump’s practices of racial bias that the Nixon Justice Department felt compelled to bring legal action.
Fast forward to 1989, when Trump took out full-page ads in prominent New York City papers calling for reinstatement of the death penalty for the Central Park Five -- five Black teens who were unjustly accused and convicted of a crime they did not commit. As President, he singled out Black professional football players who took a knee during the playing of the national anthem to protest the treatment and brutalizing of Black men by police, disrespectfully calling them “sons of bitches” that should be fired. And of course, who could forget Trump calling African nations, Haiti and El Salvador “shithole” countries at a White House meeting on immigration.
When it comes to spewing divisive, belligerent speech meant to belittle and dehumanize Black people and stoke racial hatred, Trump has no equal. On Saturday, he took things to a whole new level of offensiveness when he told an audience of Black conservatives in South Carolina that Black people will support him because of his criminal indictments.
Which brings me back to what happened on Feb. 16. It took incredible courage for Attorney General James to bring this case. She has had to endure racial slurs, threats and insults from the former president and his acolytes for daring to hold him and his company to account for committing fraud.
For most of his business and political life, Donald Trump has managed to evade justice and operate with virtual impunity. The civil fraud case marked a rare rebuke. And there is a profound sense of pride in our communities knowing it was a Black woman who led the effort to hold him accountable.