In an ABC News exclusive interview, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) spoke about the recent ruling in which her lawsuit forced former President Trump to pay more than $350 million in penalties.
ABC’s Aaron Katersky asked James why, so far in Trump’s legal issues, only women have held him to account.
“Why is it only women that have so far held him to account? Fani Willis has gotten some guilty pleas. E. Jean Carroll got a huge judgment, you have the second biggest judgment in the history of New York State,” Katersky asked. “Why is it women?”
Without hesitation, James responded, “Someone once told me, if you want something done, give it to a woman.” She posted the clip on her New York State Attorney General account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
James is coming off a historic judgment last week, when Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay nearly $355 million in penalties in a civil fraud case. James sued Trump in 2022, alleging that he falsely altered his net worth on financial statements to receive tax and insurance benefits.
Engoron found Trump, the Trump Organization and several executives, including his adult sons, liable for fraud before the trial began. Now, with interest, he could pay more than $450 million and is barred from participating in New York business for three years.
After the ruling, James praised Engoron’s decision and said “justice has been served.” During a press conference, she said the ruling proved that no one is above the law, “no matter how rich, powerful or politically connected” they are.
Just weeks before Engoron’s ruling, a different New York judge ordered Trump to pay columnist E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million after he denied her accusations that he sexually assaulted her decades earlier.
Several people connected to Trump’s election interference case in Fulton County, Ga., have pled guilty in Attorney General Fani Willis's prosecution of Trump and 18 other people for their efforts to overturn the 2020 election in the state.
