Letitia James called Trump a con man the night she won election in 2018.
At that time, she hadn't read a single document from his business.
But Trump’s lawyers just filed the brief that could erase everything Letitia James spent the past eight years building – and one judge on her own appeals panel already agrees with them.
The Woman Who Made Trump Her Campaign Promise
James didn't stumble into this fight.
She ran for attorney general on an explicit vow to investigate Donald Trump, his business, and "anyone in his orbit."
That's not a prosecutorial instinct.
That's a target list with a law degree.
In 2022, she delivered on that promise, suing Trump and alleging 200 instances of fraud tied to real estate valuations.
A compliant judge hit Trump with a $464 million judgment.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2090870520346509589?s=20
The press celebrated.
Democrats fundraised.
And the ultrasophisticated banks at the center of the alleged "fraud" kept their mouths shut – because they'd made over $100 million off those exact same transactions and never claimed to be harmed.
The Appeals Court Already Saw Through It
Before Trump filed this week's brief at the Court of Appeals – New York's highest court – a mid-level appeals panel had already gutted the case.
In August 2025, all five judges agreed the $500 million penalty had to go.
One judge went further and said James shouldn't have brought the case at all.
The panel was so divided it produced three separate opinions – and none of them could muster a majority.
That's not a legal victory for James.
That's a five-alarm warning light.
Trump's lawyers now have that fractured ruling as ammunition.
They're asking the Court of Appeals to finish what the appellate panel started – not just kill the penalty, but wipe the liability finding and the business restrictions still hanging over the Trump Organization.
Five Arguments That Hit Like a Wrecking Ball
The brief filed Wednesday doesn't pick one angle and hope.
It hits James on five fronts at once.
First, she didn't have the authority to bring the case.
The law she used – New York Executive Law § 63(12) – was designed for fraud against the public.
The Trump loans involved private commercial transactions between him and major banks.
No consumer was harmed.
No member of the public lost a dollar.
Second, there was no single objective value to compare against.
Real estate doesn't work like a stock price.
Trump hired outside appraisers, the best real estate lawyers in New York, and independent accountants to perform the valuations – and they all signed off.
James' entire theory of fraud requires you to believe those professionals were wrong and she was right.
Third, the supposed victims weren't victims at all.
Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank are not naïve grandmothers.
They had their own appraisers, their own lawyers, and their own risk models.
They made over $100 million off these deals and never said a word about being cheated.
Fourth, the $450 million disgorgement is unconstitutional.
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2090804800182960156?s=20
The appellate court already agreed it was excessive.
Trump's brief argues it violates the Eighth Amendment.
You cannot strip someone of more than they gained – especially when the alleged victims profited.
Fifth, and most damning for James personally: she cannot name a single other developer in New York history prosecuted under this theory for comparable conduct.
Not one.
"NYAG cannot point to a single Section 63(12) enforcement action against similarly situated developers based on practices comparable to those alleged here," the brief states.
That's selective prosecution.
And it's illegal.
She Spent Eight Years Chasing Trump for Fraud and Got Caught Doing the Same Thing
While James was pursuing Trump for getting better rates on loans by inflating what his properties were worth, federal prosecutors alleged she was pulling a similar move.
In October 2025, James was indicted on federal bank fraud charges – accused of misrepresenting a Virginia home as her primary residence to secure a lower mortgage rate.
https://twitter.com/eclipsethis2003/status/2090815259795689678?s=20
A judge later dismissed the charges on procedural grounds, and two separate grand juries declined to re-indict her.
But the allegation itself – New York's top law enforcement officer lying to a bank about a property for a better deal – became the defining image of this entire saga.
The Court of Appeals now has to decide whether New York's legal system exists to enforce the law – or to punish whoever Democrats hate most this election cycle.
Trump's brief says it plainly: "This case should have never been brought, and the judgment cannot stand."
The question is whether New York's highest court has the integrity to say it too.
Sources:
- Leo Briceno, "Trump's Lawyers Put Dem AG on Notice for Targeting His Family in NY Fraud Fight," Fox News, August 26, 2026.
- Gregg Jarrett, "Trump Victim Not Villain – Lawfare War Against Him Crumbles," Fox News, August 2025.
- "Court Throws Out Trump's $500M Civil Fraud Penalty," Fox News, August 21, 2025.
- "New York Attorney General Letitia James Charged in Fraud Case," Yahoo News, October 2025.
- "Grand Jury Refuses to Re-Indict Letitia James," Yahoo News, December 2025.
- "A History of President Trump's Legal Battles with NY AG Letitia James," Spectrum News, October 2025.
