New York's AG 'has her work cut out' to win civil fraud case against Trump -- here's why

On Monday, POLITICO reported that New York Attorney General Letitia James now holds the likeliest key to holding former President Donald Trump responsible for his businesses' alleged accounting fraud, after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and line prosecutors in the office split on whether to file criminal charges — but that some serious challenges remain.

"'She has her work cut out for her in terms of proving her case. And I think it’s an incredibly unusual case, in the sense that it has gotten so far in being able to take discovery of a former president,' said Joshua Schiller, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner, who has fought other cases with the state’s attorney general," reported Deanna Garcia. "One of the core questions in a potential lawsuit, he said, would be whether she can prove lenders and other parties relied on the misrepresentations and were swindled as a result. 'The defense is probably working on a set of witnesses that can say it wasn’t material to us whether that information was correct or not.'"

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However, that doesn't mean the case can't be won.

"[S]everal [attorneys] noted James has broad powers in prosecuting fraud, and said the misrepresentations she’s alleged, particularly if they were weighed heavily by banks and insurers who did deals with Trump, could open the former president up to liability in the form of significant monetary damages," said the report.

The allegations are that the Trump Organization kept two sets of books, using higher valuations of their worth for banks when seeking loans, and lower valuations when filing taxes with state and federal agencies.

In addition to the civil fraud investigation by the state of New York, Trump and his children face a separate class action lawsuit accusing them of promoting an illegal pyramid scheme.