The men and women who run Gotham’s major banks and financial companies have had a long and somewhat troubled history with the former president, dating back to their days as real estate moguls.
But they wonder what’s going on with President Donald Trump amid the Byzantine Letitia James bank fraud indictment and excessive fines by a state judge that could bankrupt him over relatively small things. I understand.
They know they could be next–unless, of course, they escape Gotham in a hurry.
That’s what I got from the head of a financial services company who was paying close attention to the Trump scandal because of its far-reaching implications for their businesses.
They have been noted for years as a nuisance that uses state laws like the Martin Act, which give the New York State Attorney General’s Office wide latitude to prosecute financial crimes (and some misdemeanors) for political gain. I’ve been doing it.
Remember: Before he was known as “Governor Sox,” Eliot Spitzer was the much-feared AG of New York State, the so-called sheriff of Wall Street, and a man responsible for over billions of dollars, primarily in financial companies. They were cracking down on petty crimes that forced people to donate money.
james power play
Wall Street executives acknowledged that Mr. James took Mr. Spitzer’s methods to a more dangerous level.
She has a well-deserved reputation for exploiting the bully pulpit for political gain. See the “report” on her rival, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, over sexual abuse allegations. Although her prosecution never materialized, she forced Mr. Cuomo from office.
With Trump, James went even further.
In a state where criminals and criminals rule the streets, businesses are leaving in droves, and the state’s tax base is depleted, putting Trump behind bars should be the top priority, so she’s putting Trump behind bars. He ran on a promise to prosecute.
The bankers I talk to aren’t particularly MAGA, and far from it.
But they can’t believe James was able to turn the Nothing Burger case into a $355 million verdict.
If there’s a crime, they say, it’s that James was not disqualified when he ran for president, using his promise to win over Trump as a selling point.
of course.
It is well known that Trump is a hardliner, but cheating on a loan application to a major bank that conducted its own due diligence on loans that Trump favored is not necessarily a crime punishable by death. isn’t it.
It’s not just that James has caused so much heartburn in our business community that he’s rushing plans to pull out of town.
Executives also see the state’s dangerous politics, the leftists running the state Legislature, and an incompetent governor who seems powerless to overturn laws that make New York uninhabitable.
Bank executives also accused Soros-funded Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of killing Daniel Penny, who defended himself on the subway, and porn stars while employees had to avoid criminals on their way to work. There are concerns that Mr. Trump and others who paid hush money to him will be arrested.
“It’s embarrassing that we have to put up with this to do business here,” one business leader told the Post.
“We look like idiots here.”
That’s exactly why Goldman Sachs is moving its wealth management jobs to Texas. Hedge funds are rushing to Florida. Private equity giants like Blackstone are moving operations to Miami.
Over the past four years, we’ve heard that more than $2 trillion in assets have been moved by companies out of cities and states and into places that aren’t here.
Expect more to leave because they see what’s happening with President Trump as a cost of doing business.
