Trump calls for Letitia James to be 'disbarred and banished' following fraud suit

Former US president Donald Trump hit out at New York’s attorney general Letitia James on Friday during his rally in Wilmington, North Carolina. Trump called for her to be removed from office, disbarred and banished from the legal profession. The reaction came after Letitia James announced a civil lawsuit accusing the Trump Organization of "numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation".

Letitia James said that with the help of his children and others at the Trump Organization, the former president provided fraudulent statements of his net worth and false asset valuations "to obtain and satisfy loans, get insurance benefits, and pay lower taxes".

Trump repeated his oft-used defense that the suit is "another witch hunt" against him, while his spokesperson denounced it as a political move by Democrats against the Republican businessman.

Letitia said the values of 23 assets had been "grossly and fraudulently inflated", and her office uncovered more than 200 examples of misleading asset valuations.

Her office requested that the former president pay at least $250 million in penalties, a sum she says he made from the fraud, and that his family be banned from running businesses in the state.

The 214-page complaint also names Trump's adult children Donald Trump Jr, Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump as defendants, as well as longtime company executives including former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg.

She also urged that Trump along with his children be barred from purchasing property in the state for five years. She further added that "Mr. Trump thought he could get away with the art of the steal, but today, that conduct ends".