During an interview segment aired on Tuesday’s ABC News, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) addressed concerns that the recent fraud verdict against former President Donald Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, would drive businesses out of the state. She pointed out that “tourism is up, and Wall Street is doing just fine.”
In response to a clip where James mentioned the possibility of seizing Trump’s assets if he cannot pay the judgment, ABC News Senior Investigative Correspondent Aaron Katersky highlighted that Trump was found liable for inflating his wealth and the value of his real estate to secure low-interest loans from banks. Trump, however, insisted that the banks were happy to do business with him.
He then played a clip where he asked James, “They said no victim, no one got harmed, the banks got paid back. So, no harm, no foul. Why is that not the case in your view?”
James responded, “So, financial frauds are not victimless crimes. He engaged in this massive amount of fraud. And it wasn’t just a simple mistake, a slight oversight, the variations were wildly exaggerated, and the extent of the fraud was staggering.”
In another part of the report, Katersky said, “Trump said the penalty against him would drive other businesses out of New York. … But the state’s Attorney General told us she’s not worried.”
He then played a clip of James saying, “And last I checked, tourism is up and Wall Street is doing just fine.”
