A New York appeals court rejected Donald Trump's motion to dismiss NY AG Letitia James' lawsuit alleging "staggering" fraud. However, due to a late filing date, Trump's daughter Ivanka found that all charges against her, and only Ivanka, are dropped.
In a 5-0 decision, the Appellate Division in Manhattan said state law gave James power to police alleged "repeated or persistent fraud or illegality," and conduct lengthy and complex investigations many years after suspected misconduct began.
But it said statutes of limitations prevented James, who had probed Trump's business dealings for three years, from suing over claims that arose before July 13, 2014, or Feb. 6, 2016, depending on the defendant.
It also said all claims against Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump should be dismissed because James filed them too late.
Trump's team alleged that the State of New York's Attorney General should not seek to prosecute crimes because they were done privately. The courts have agreed that part of the AG's job is to police fraud.
During oral arguments on June 6, Donald Trump's lawyer Christopher Kise said James lacked broad authority to "interject" herself into successful, private transactions dating back several years.
James' office countered that the transactions didn't occur in a vacuum, and that letting Trump commit fraud hurts honest participants in banking, insurance and real estate markets.
