Anticipation was high when news that New York State Attorney General Letitia James would be holding a “major” press conference this morning first began circulating. Attorney General James did not disappoint, announcing the filing of a major civil lawsuit against Donald Trump, his three eldest children — Don Jr., Ivanka, and Eric — and the entire Trump Organization for fraudulently overvaluing his assets by billions of dollars and committing tax fraud in a wide-ranging crime spree over a decade in the making.
In bringing the prosecution against Trump and his family business, Attorney General James seeks to bar Trump and his children from ever managing in business in New York state again.
After James announced her historic civil suit, making sure to refer her findings to federal prosecutors and the IRS to pursue criminal charges for the crimes that she uncovered the proof for, social media denizens opposed to the former president erupted in jubilation, while Trump supporters raged with echoes of the ex-president’s own characterization of James’ efforts as a “witch hunt.”
Here’s a sampling of the social media response to today’s huge news break:
Tish James: Got him!!
— Jennifer "Pro-privacy" Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) September 21, 2022
*we're about to face a shortage of Depends & Adderall on the East Coast. @GOP
— NoelCaslerComedy (@caslernoel) September 21, 2022
https://twitter.com/bobcesca_go/status/1572609632136208388?s=20
are you telling me that the guy who lied to get into college and lied to get out of Vietnam and lied to his wives and and lied to the IRS and lied to students at his scam university and lied to donors to his fake charity has been lying to Letitia James? get the fuck out of here
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) September 21, 2022
Trump: WITCH HUNT!
Letitia James: Witches are real. Here's my 222-page complaint against their Manhattan coven.
— Grant Stern is boosted! (@grantstern) September 21, 2022
Many people are saying he's a flight risk, the likes of which we've never seen.
— Don Lewis (@DonLew87) September 21, 2022
Letitia James. Fanni Willis. Bet on Black women. They get it done.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) September 21, 2022
https://twitter.com/mmpadellan/status/1572615693170016258?s=20
Letitia James doesn't give a fuck about your 60-days-before-an-election rule and it's fucking glorious
— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) September 21, 2022
https://twitter.com/NotHoodlum/status/1572617345939406855?s=20
One man in particular was over the moon over the fact that James has finally filed her civil suit: Michael Cohen, the former Trump Organization attorney and fixer, whose testimony in his own case involving payouts to Stormy Daniels was credited by James herself for kick-starting the investigation that led to today.
“This is truly an incredible day.” @MichaelCohen212 reacts to the New York State lawsuit against Donald Trump and thanks NY AG Letitia James for crediting him for starting the probe into Trump. pic.twitter.com/AKFC1qSKjQ
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) September 21, 2022
While Cohen’s excitement is infectious, some people were skeptical of the importance of Attorney General James’ move.
Trump has known this is will happen for 2+years. It's why after living in NYC his entire life he moved to Florida post White House.
Trump has 6 corporate bankruptcies = does not care about ANY reputational/bank damage.
This is a CIVIL CASE. Not criminal = NO ARREST.
Stop hype.
— Don Winslow (@donwinslow) September 21, 2022
Others saw the suit as a political move, echoing Donald Trump’s own take on the situation.
The Democrats have weaponized the legal system against their political opponents – and they continue to do it because there is no pushback from the media. https://t.co/DifjUqINp2
— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) September 21, 2022
The Trump’s themselves, however, seemed to be taking the lawsuit very seriously, judging by the vehemence of their reactions against it.
This is all about politics. Weaponizing her office to go after her political opponents! https://t.co/HENkA84jjh
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) September 21, 2022
Letitia James is not working for the Attorney Generals office – she is working for the DNC… 49 days before her election (newest poll has her tied with a Republican in New York State) pic.twitter.com/xpqVDKbzIN
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) September 21, 2022
Letitia James has spent her entire tenure as NY AG trying to “get Trump.”
She has launched failed investigation after failed investigation.
She has nothing, because there is nothing!
This latest “lawsuit” is just a continuation of the endless witch hunt into Trump!
— Kimberly Guilfoyle (@kimguilfoyle) September 21, 2022
Donald Trump himself responded to the lawsuit in a series of Truth Social posts that labeled Letitia James as a “racist” and called the civil suit his all-purpose description of any attempts to hold him accountable for his actions, a “witch hunt.”
“I never thought this case would be brought — until I saw her really bad poll numbers,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “She is a fraud who campaigned on a ‘get Trump’ platform.”
You might expect that those who are the target of the investigation and face the implosion of their business interests to react badly to the news of the lawsuit. It’s likely that Trump and his family will be even more upset once the trial begins and full details of his transgressions are revealed, particularly if a criminal case is brought by federal prosecutors who have just been handed a treasure trove of investigative materials.
The fun’s just beginning, folks, even if not for the Trumps.
Follow Vinnie Longobardo on Twitter.