Trump dodged the penalty, but the precedent could destroy you



The news out of New York this week should outrage anyone who believes in the rule of law. The state’s appellate court tossed out the obscene half-billion-dollar penalty imposed on Donald Trump by state Attorney General Letitia James, yet it still clung to the claim that he committed “fraud” by overstating his real estate portfolio.

From the beginning, this case was political lawfare disguised as “justice.” It criminalized the very elasticity of property valuation that defines high-stakes real estate.

If America tolerates this ruling, the day will come when the crime isn’t fraud at all — it’s being the wrong person with the wrong politics at the wrong time.

Anyone who has bought or sold a home knows “value” isn’t some sacred number. A property is worth only what someone will pay, and until that moment, its worth floats in a haze of market analysis, comparable sales, zoning quirks, and fickle buyer demand. That’s why developers hire licensed professionals — because even they can’t pin down “true” value in advance.

Trump, like every major builder, relied on staff and advisers to draft annual financial statements for lenders and insurers. James labeled his optimistic estimates “fraud.” That leap should terrify every business owner.

New York’s civil fraud statute doesn’t require proof of harm. No bank cried foul. Deutsche Bank and other institutions profited, collecting interest and repayment in full. As even Reuters admitted, sophisticated lenders conducted their own underwriting and discounted Trump’s numbers before loaning a dime. Yet James waved off reality, claiming the real harm was to the “system” — a conveniently nebulous principle that gave her license to weaponize her office against her state’s most famous political enemy.

The trial spotlighted Trump Tower’s penthouse, once valued as if it were three times its actual size, and Mar-a-Lago, valued as if it could be sold tomorrow as a private estate despite deed restrictions that limit it to club use. But what the press rarely notes: Every statement carried disclaimers telling banks to do their own due diligence. That’s not fraud; that’s called salesmanship. What made it criminal, apparently, was Trump’s name.

RELATED: Pot, meet kettle: Is Letitia James guilty of the EXACT SAME fraud she went after Trump for?

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The trial court swallowed James’ theory whole, slapping Trump with a penalty that swelled past $500 million with interest. The appellate court rightly found the punishment excessive under the Eighth Amendment. Punishing a man for hundreds of millions when no bank lost a penny was not justice — it was confiscation. Even then, the majority kept the fraud finding alive, while dissenting judges argued liability was never proven, and one urged outright dismissal.

Trump may have dodged financial annihilation, but James’ poison seed remains. If prosecutors can retroactively decide your numbers looked “too rosy,” then every loan application in America becomes a potential indictment. This case was never about protecting banks. It was about showing that the state can destroy anyone it chooses, facts and damages be damned.

And here’s the warning every American should feel in their gut: If the state can do this to a billionaire with armies of lawyers and accountants, imagine what it can do to you. One overly confident estimate on your house, one set of books a bureaucrat decides to “reinterpret,” and suddenly you’re a fraud. Your life’s work? Gone in the name of “justice.”

That isn’t the rule of law. It’s tyranny weaponized through balance sheets. If America tolerates this, the day will come when the crime isn’t fraud at all — it’s being the wrong person with the wrong politics at the wrong time.

White male who slapped black male's face prior to Cincinnati mob attack — and got thrashed in beatdown — has been charged



The white male seen on video slapping a black male's face just moments before last month's Cincinnati mob attack has been charged, WLWT-TV reported.

Police said the 45-year-old white male was ordered to appear next Tuesday in Hamilton County Municipal Court, the station said.

'We still question the fairness in charging based on the information we have seen and the conversations we have had.'

While police didn't release the suspect's name, noting he's a mob attack victim and that Marsy’s Law prevents authorities from releasing his identity, WLWT said it spoke with the suspect on the phone Tuesday night.

The station said Alex Tchervinski confirmed he's facing the misdemeanor charge. WLWT said he's been charged with disorderly conduct, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

A cellphone video shows a white male and several black males squaring off before the mob attack begins. The video shows light physical contact between the white male and two black males, while others of both races appear to try to break things up. Then amid verbal sparring, the white male lightly slaps the face of a black male — and then the mob attack commences.

The above video and a second clip show the mob repeatedly stomping, kicking, and punching the white male while he's lying in the street.

The station said its sources confirmed that the white male seen on video slapping the black male is Tchervinski.

In addition, a black male seen on a third cellphone video standing next to the face-slap victim appears to be the first individual to physically retaliate against the white male. As it happens, police are looking for another mob attack suspect, and the image cops released of this suspect appears to match the appearance of the male seen retaliating on video.

Cincinnati's black leaders had been demanding charges against the white male who issued the slap.

RELATED: Cincinnati police looking for another mob attack suspect; videos appear to show him punching white male just after slap

"What incited and who incited the rioting? If the riot is because of a slap, who incited the rioting?" Rev. Damon Lynch said recently to a crowd at New Prospect Baptist Church, WXIX-TV reported.

BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock — who's been commenting on the mob beatdown since it all unfolded late last month — blasted Cincinnati's black leaders for their collective stance.

RELATED: Cincinnati official who said mob attack victims 'begged' for beating doubles down; woman punched in face records tearful clip

One of the clips Whitlock aired shows Rev. Lynch altering the lyrics of a Jim Croce song for his own purposes as he spoke to the crowd at church: "You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit in the wind, you don't pull the mask off the ol' Lone Ranger, and you don't slap a black man in the face."

Whitlock responded to Lynch's words by saying, "Why is he racializing this? It's disrespectful to slap anyone, regardless of color, in the face. Is he saying ... if a black person slaps a black person in the face, it's OK? If a black gang member shoots a black man in the face, it's OK? If a black gang member accidentally shoots some young black child, it's OK? But everybody knows that you don't slap a black man in the face, I guess, unless you're black. He's in a church talking about common street thugs — and I'll include the white guy in that, because he ... seemed to be trying to fight with someone. ... [The reverend is] justifying to the people in that audience and other black people in Cincinnati that if you get slapped in the face by a white person, a gang of you all should jump on that man and beat up the woman. This is inside of a church! This is insanity; this is lack of humility."

WLWT said Ken Kober, president of the Cincinnati Fraternal Order of Police, is unhappy about the decision to charge Tchervinski: "The city administration is eroding the very fabric of the justice system with orders to prosecute those without probable cause. Cops are being used as political pawns. It's disgusting."

Chief Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Kip Guinan addressed the face slap, saying that it came after someone else was already beaten, not before, WXIX reported. Guinan also acknowledged that racial slurs are audible on some of the videos of the mob attack — however, he said the slurs were uttered "a minute and 47 seconds into the brutal beatdown," the station reported.

"Were there words said? Yes. Were they inappropriate? Absolutely," Guinan also noted, WXIX reported, before adding that "these poor people were being assaulted, stomped WWE-style, elbow-drops onto pavement. One woman was knocked out to the point her head hit the pavement. We could be here on a homicide."

But WLWT said David Whitehead, president of the Cincinnati NAACP, released a statement which reads, in part: "We still question the fairness in charging based on the information we have seen and the conversations we have had. Street altercations typically result in disorderly conduct charges and ... defendants [are] being charged beyond that."

Prior to the charge against the white male, seven others — all of them black — have been charged in connection with the mob attack. Six of of the seven have been indicted on eight charges each: three counts of felonious assault, three counts of assault, and two counts of aggravated riot. Those six face nearly 30 years in jail if convicted on all charges.

The two female suspects last week got big breaks from a judge who reduced their bonds of several hundred thousand dollars each down to $25,000 each, of which they owed just 10%. Fox News said the two females were released from jail Friday.

RELATED: Male accused of punching woman in face, knocking her out during Cincinnati mob attack finally appears in court

(L to R) Dekyra Vernon, Aisha Devaughn. Image source: Hamilton County (Ohio) Sheriff

The seventh suspect — 32-year-old Gregory Wright — was indicted Friday for aggravated riot and aggravated robbery, WXIX reported in another story, citing court records. Wright pleaded not guilty at his initial arraignment, the station said.

Police said in a criminal complaint that Wright "did by force rip the necklace off the victim while he was being assaulted by four or more co-defendants attempting to cause serious physical harm," WXIX said, adding that a police flyer indicated Wright put the necklace in his pocket and then took video of the rest of the mob attack. Wright remained behind bars Wednesday morning, jail records show.

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Why a Minnesota police chief says a female Tesla vandalism suspect won't be charged — and even 'may have been a victim'



In a twist amid the recent and widespread rash of attacks against Tesla vehicles, a Minnesota police chief is following his department's "core value of being compassionate" and won't be charging a Tesla vandalism suspect.

What's more, Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges earlier this week declared that "the suspect in this case may have been a victim — and I mean victim in terms of the rhetoric that is being spewed out here by some of those in leadership."

'People should be able to drive whatever car they want without fear of going into a store and someone scratching their car, or people yelling at 'em because of the car … they choose to drive.'

A woman walked past a Tesla parked outside the Cub Foods on France Avenue north of Old Shakopee Road and scraped it with a key on March 26, causing $3,200 in damage, police told the Minnesota Star Tribune.

Police posted a video on social media of the woman in the parking lot and asked for tips on how to find her, the paper said.

Hodges on Tuesday announced that the woman came in with her family just one day after the video was posted and confessed to the crime, the Star Tribune said.

But it turns out that the Tesla owner only wanted the woman to cover the cost of repairing the damage, and Hodges said she did just that.

“The victim in this case just wanted their car fixed, and they just wanted the suspect to pay for that,” Hodges said. “Based on the totality of the circumstances here, and along with our core value of being compassionate, this is the best outcome for everybody involved in this case.”

Continuing with his criticism of leaders — presumably those railing against Tesla CEO Elon Musk's cost-cutting work with the DOGE for President Donald Trump — Hodges added that "we need our leaders to start leading and stop feeding this rhetoric. People should be able to drive whatever car they want without fear of going into a store and someone scratching their car, or people yelling at 'em because of the car … they choose to drive. It’s time for all of us, you know, just to start getting along and knock this stuff off, man. People should be able to be left alone.”

While Hodges didn't refer to a specific leader, the Star Tribune said Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — who unsuccessfully ran for vice president with Kamala Harris last fall — told a crowd last month that he gets an anti-Musk thrill by checking Tesla's stock price: “I take great pleasure in the fact that this guy’s life is going to get very, very difficult."

As readers of Blaze News likely know, Musk responded with a dig against Walz on X: "Sometimes when I need a little boost, I look at the @JDVance portrait in the @WhiteHouse and thank the Lord."

Anything else?

Hodges made sure to warn others who assume they'll now scoot past criminal charges if they damage Teslas: “But rest assured, if you damage these cars or target people, we are going to arrest you, we are going to prosecute you to the fullest extent that we’re able to."

You can view Hodges' video statement here.

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2 girls — just 11 and 13 years old — arrested for brutally assaulting woman outside DC train station, police say



A pair of young girls — just 11 and 13 years old — were arrested for brutally assaulting a woman outside Union Station in Washington, D.C., WRC-TV reported, citing police.

WRC, citing D.C. police, noted that video on social media showed a group of kids repeatedly punching and kicking the woman after she departed the train station.

'There is absolutely zero tolerance for this behavior in our city. Harming our community like this will result in your arrest and prosecution, no matter your age.'

What's more, a girl recorded the assault and encouraged the other suspects to continue their attack, police told WRC.

That's not the half of it, though.

The group actually physically attacked more people who tried to intervene, WRC said.

The station said none of the attack victims were seriously injured, police told WRC.

According to D.C. police, officials learned about videos of the assaults circulating on social media Wednesday — and then discovered that the attack at Union Station was among the assaults posted online, WRC said.

Police haven't indicated when the assault against the woman took place, WRC said.

What happened next?

Detectives identified two of the girls involved and arrested them Thursday, police told WRC.

“There is absolutely zero tolerance for this behavior in our city. Harming our community like this will result in your arrest and prosecution, no matter your age. It is on all of us who care for our young people to ensure they don’t follow this path," Chief of Police Pamela A. Smith said in a news release about the arrests, WRC reported.

The two underage girls — both from northeast D.C. — were charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to riot, simple assault, and disorderly conduct, police told WRC.

The station said police didn't provide information about possible motives for the attack or indicate whether the girls knew the victim of the assault.

Anything else?

Investigators are asking those with information about the assault to call 202-727-9099 or text a tip to 50411, WRC added. Police are offering a reward of up to $1,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and indictment of those responsible.

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UN ‘Gender’ Treaty Would Wage International Lawfare Against People Who Believe Men And Women Are Different

With the new treaty, Western leftists want to label anyone who publicly opposes gender ideology as an international criminal.

Man repeatedly stabbed by hatchet-wielding suspect decides he's had enough. Gym members provide added muscle.



A man was stabbed several times Tuesday when trying to get to his car outside a shopping center in Corona, California. When walked at knifepoint into a Planet Fitness, the victim decided to bring his hatchet-wielding captor back down to earth — and gym members proved more than happy to assist.

According to the Corona Police Department, 30-year-old Ronald Vikash Chand of Santa Ana allegedly approached a 41-year-old man around 9:20 a.m. in the parking lot outside a Planet Fitness at 3685 Grand Oaks.

KABC-TV reported that the victim began recording the suspect, having observed him behaving erratically. This apparently enraged Chand, who allegedly blocked the victim's car with his own and smashed in its window with a hatchet.

The attacker proceeded to lunge at the victim with a hatchet and a knife, stabbing him several times, said police. Although blood had been spilled, the ordeal was far from over.

Chand allegedly walked his bloody victim into the lobby of the Planet Fitness at knifepoint, where he berated gym members.

In a shocking video of the incident, the suspect accuses someone of taking advantage of him before yelling, "Give me water! I need water!"

KTTV-TV reported that John Keene, a gym-goer, was among those who ultimately stepped up when the moment presented itself.

"I was on the stairclimber and I heard screaming behind me," said Keene. "At first, I thought it was an argument, so I kind of ignored it and after about a minute, it got louder, so I turned off the machine and got down to walk over there."

On closer examination, Keene saw the blades and realized this was no mere argument.

"He [the suspect] had his arm around the victim and the victim was covered in blood. Three other guys were all walking over at the same time. There were four of us," Keene told KTTV.

In the video of the incident, the suspect can be seen with a knife in his raised hand, poised to stab the victim again. However, Chand's focus temporarily shifts along with his stabbing hand as he pivots to yell at onlookers.

The victim seized upon that fleeting distraction, yanking the hatchet to one side and engulfing the suspect in a tackle. Under the victim's weight, the 145-pound attacker folded to the ground like cardboard.

Although the victim initially managed to overwhelm his attacker, Chand allegedly continued lashing out, prompting Keene and others to intervene.

"We all just bounced on him and disarmed him and held him down for the police. It kinda happened fast," said Keene.

"I got him on his back and I held his arm down so Steve could take the knife from him," added the Good Samaritan. "And then there was hatchet there too and we handed it to somebody else, and they took it away from the scene."

"I wasn't scared at that moment. I felt the adrenaline after, but because the victim acted, we didn't have time to decide or think about it. I was involved before I thought about it," added Keene.

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Rachele Wolfe witnessed the bloody scene. She told KTTV, "It was terrifying. I was afraid. I didn't know what was going to happen. It seems like a safe place. You come, you work out, you leave, but it just goes to show you, you're not safe anywhere."

The victim suffered multiple stab wounds to his upper body and was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment. CPD noted that he has since been released.
Chand was similarly taken to hospital with minor injuries, but then booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center.
Chand has been charged with attempted murder and two misdemeanor counts of assault with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily injury. His bail was set at $1,000,000.

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