“It’s going to end the whole company,” Cohen said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “All in with Chris Hayes” Wednesday night. “You think that?” Hayes followed. “I believe so,” Cohen replied. James announced the fraud suit earlier Wednesday, the culmination of a three-year investigation into the Trump family and its business practices. The attorney general alleges that the Trump Organization at times inflated and deflated property values to mislead investors and gain tax and loan benefits, while also exaggerating the former president’s net worth. James said during Wednesday’s announcement that her investigation began after Cohen testified before Congress about the Trump Organization. “When he mentioned my name, I was obviously excited, to be honest, because I’m finally acknowledging what I’ve been sitting on the mountaintops shouting for three and a half, four years, which is The Trump Organization is a criminal enterprise and he threw me under the bus dear old Donald,” Cohen told MSNBC. Among James’ requests to the court are $250 million in punitive damages and a permanent ban on the former president and three of his adult children from serving as an officer or director of any New York-based company. Georgia voters view Warnock more favorably than Walker in Senate race: survey Democratic Florida state lawmaker to file lawsuit to block immigration flights DeSantis Cohen told Hayes that he expects that amount to rise to about $750 million once they realize the full extent of the issues. Trump and his two grown sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, have called the investigation a witch hunt, noting James’ previous promises to continue investigating the family and her upcoming re-election bid in November. James also said Wednesday that she referred alleged violations of federal law, including conspiracy to falsify business records and commit insurance fraud, to the IRS and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
