United States | Et tu, New York

Donald Trump faces a sweeping new lawsuit

The former president’s legal troubles pile up

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022, in New York. New York’s attorney general sued former President Donald Trump and his company on Wednesday, alleging business fraud involving some of their most prized assets, including properties in Manhattan, Chicago and Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)
|Washington, DC

Many americans who harbour nearly religious reverence for Donald Trump—especially those steeped in qAnon mythology—speak of the former president as a sort of Messiah. Of late he has resembled more the beleaguered biblical character of Job, beset by one legal woe after the next. The latest blow came on September 21st when Letitia James, the attorney-general for the state of New York, filed a lawsuit against Mr Trump, three of his children and his real-estate business alleging a “staggering” level of fraud extending over a decade. Ms James is seeking to permanently bar the Trump family from operating a business in New York and to recover $250m in ill-gotten gains. She has also referred the findings of her investigation, which has taken three years, to federal prosecutors for possible criminal charges.

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