The ex-NY AG prosecutors told Insider that Donald Trump has five ways to fight the lawsuit.
They said that Trump will play dumb.
James sued Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization.
According to former office prosecutors, Donald Trump will try everything in his power to save his business empire.
The battle over Wednesday's lawsuit won't be pretty and won't be fast, according to the New York AG veterans.
James wants a judge to order $250 million in penalties and to bar the Trump family from living in New York because she says they lied about the value of their properties.
The outcome can't be guaranteed.
Three defense lawyers who spent years prosecuting complex financial cases for the New York AG's office were talked to by Insider. Their picks for Trump's defenses.
Hours after the lawsuit was dropped, Trump complained to Sean Hannity that he didn't know anything about her.
He saw this woman when James ran for AG. She said they were going to get him.
He said that her entire campaign was based on that.
The "She's out to get me" defense has been raised many times by Trump. He cried "bias" multiple times and was unsuccessful in fighting James' investigation into the Trump Organization. He compiled her history of anti- Trump statements into a spreadsheet.
"They're definitely going to waste a lot of paper trying to make that argument again," said the lead prosecutor on the AG office's separate investigation into Trump University.
It will get them nowhere except for whipping up their own supporters.
"It's not going to fly with the judge," said a former NY AG prosecutor.
The bias defense can still be used as an argument for dismissing the lawsuit, according to a former AG's office prosecutor.
Morian, who prosecuted complex financial frauds from 2006 to 2019 before founding Morian Law, said that it's not trivial that she was out there saying she was going to go after Trump.
Morian said it was a violation of her oath of office and a violation of his due process rights.
Trump's side will argue that a property's worth is subjective and that it's not possible to low-ball a property's value in order to impress a lender.
At the same time, they can't be true. To show fraud, you don't have to prove which one was true and which one wasn't.
It's not possible to pull a valuation out of thin air.
There's subjective and complete fantasyland.
Fantasyland, as in Trump's objectively false claim that his Trump Tower triplex on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue spanned over 30,000 square feet. Forbes reported that it was 11,000 square feet.
Trump was able to claim his triplex was worth more than 300 million dollars in a bank loan.
James said that only one apartment in New York City had ever sold for $100 million.
If you're trying to lower your taxes or impress a bank, it's common for businesses to use very different valuations, according to Morian.
"If the valuation is based on some rationale, you don't need to use the same methodology for every appraisal," Morian said.
The methodology might have been incorrect. It could have been positive. That doesn't make a false statement.
It's not possible to say that your 3-year-old daughter's version of theMona Lisa is worth the same as theMona Lisa. You can't say that the painting is worth anything. There is a wide range of discretion when it comes to how you value assets.
Trump claims he didn't really look at the paperwork.
The author of "Profiles in Cowardice in the Trump Era" said that if he wasn't a sophisticated investor and developer that might be true.
Trump was very hands-on in the Trump Organization.
In his August deposition, Trump was asked if he blindly relied on his accountants.
Instead of answering, Trump pleaded the fifth. If the suit goes to trial, the judge can infer that Trump was lying.
"No, it was me, standing behind all the funny math, when I answered 'I plead the Fifth'," he said.
Any "I just signed what they gave me" defense needs to be weighed by the judge.
Is that enough for him to be forgiven? Morain thought it was probably not. It can be a very sound factual defense.
The financial statements James is suing over, the ones she says wildly exaggerated his worth, are on the front of the company's website.
It tells you to get your own people. You're at your own risk, so don't rely on the statement that you're getting. It could be a long way off.
The banks that lent him money have the best lawyers in the world. They shouldn't take him at his word.
Trump said that she was trying to defend banks that had great legal talent.
Morian said that Trump has a point.
If you put a small note in the financial statement, the bank can double-check the numbers to avoid liability for fuzzy math.
The reader of the financial statement is assumed to be sophisticated.
"I paid them back," Trump1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 The banks made a lot of money. She is defending banks that were paid off.
No harm, no foul, is what it is.
Or, as Trump White House budget directorMitch Mulvaney said, "Who is the victim here?" The banks could file a lawsuit on their own if they thought they'd been cheated.
Morian is also aware of their point.
He noted that the banks Trump tricked into lending to him were silent.
Morian said it was almost like James had filed a private claim. She doesn't have the ability to do that.
The motions to dismiss will be centered around that. She will have to prove she has the authority to bring this case.
James isn't blaming the banks.
She said that the people of New York state are the victims.
She said that Trump's crimes were not victimless.
It reduces resources available to working people, small businesses and taxpayers when powerful people break the law.
Business Insider has an article on it.
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