Trump and sons denounce ‘witch hunt’ after N.Y. Atty. Gen. James files civil fraud suit
Former President Donald Trump denounced New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday as “racist” after she filed a wide-ranging civil fraud suit against him, three of his children and their family real estate company.
“Another Witch Hunt by a racist Attorney General,” Trump wrote on his new social media site. “She is a fraud who campaigned on a “get Trump” platform, despite the fact that the city is one of the crime and murder disasters of the world under her watch!”
Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, the two adult sons of the former president, also denounced the suit as a “witch hunt” even as other top Republicans mostly kept quiet.
“The bulls--t Dem witch-hunt continues!” Trump Jr. tweeted, along with an unflattering photo of James.
The bullshit Dem witch-hunt continues! pic.twitter.com/FQM0MZt6Wp
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 21, 2022
Eric Trump, the other adult son of Donald Trump, also derided the suit as a “joke.”
“Not a political “witch hunt?!” What a joke…” Eric Trump tweeted.
FILE - Donald Trump Jr., speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Feb. 27, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. (John Raoux/)
The twice impeached president did not immediately respond on his social media site to the announcement by James. Nor did Ivanka Trump.
The three Trump siblings are named in the suit, along with their father and longtime Trump Org CFO Allan Weisselberg, who recently pleaded guilty to criminal charges in connection with a separate fraud prosecution.
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference Wednesday in Manhattan. (Luiz C. Ribeiro/)
James suit cites a scheme that included at least 200 separate false claims about the values of Trump-owned properties. It aims to basically put the Trump Org out of business in New York state and hand it crippling fines.
Donald Trump and Eric Trump each invoked the Fifth Amendment hundreds of times when questioned by investigators from James’s office, while Don Jr. and Ivanka willingly answered questions.
New York state Republican Party chair Nick Langworthy denounced the suit as “the most brazen political stunts I have seen in my lifetime.”
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), the No. 3 House Republican leader, attacked James for launching a “deranged anti-Trump mission.”
Donald Trump (left) and Donald Trump Jr. (right) are pictured during the unveiling of the design for the Trump International Hotel in The Old Post Office in Washington, D.C. on Sept. 10, 2013. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/)
Former U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, an occasional critic of Trump, criticized the suit as a “political hit job,” claiming that James did not have to include the younger Trumps, even though they play key roles in the family firm.
“She grossly overreaches when she tries to drag the children into this,” Barr said on Fox News.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) echoed the Trump sons, calling the suit the “Longest Witch Hunt in History!”