Trump attacked New York Attorney General Letitia James and demanded that she be criminally charged for prosecuting him during a break in the closing arguments of his fraud trial.
Trump said, “And it’s a shame. I think she’s, she should be criminally liable for this. She did this to Exxon, and they drove Exxon out of New York. Exxon paid billions of dollars of taxes. They’re now living in Texas. Exxon is very happy in Texas. Other companies, because of what’s happening here, are gonna be moving out of New York also. This is an out of control Attorney General.”
There are three problems with Trump’s statement. Exxon moved to Texas in 1989. Letitia James was not New York’s AG in 1989, and Exxon didn’t move because of any actions by the attorney general against them.
A 1989 Los Angeles Times story reported:
Lawrence Rawl, chairman and chief executive of the world’s largest oil company, said officials decided that less costly Irving, Tex., would be a better location “from the standpoint of our employees’ personal and professional lives, and from an overall business standpoint.” A company evaluation considered factors such as business costs, housing, commuting, taxes, accessibility by air and the “overall business climate,” Exxon said.
Blaming Trump’s comments on mental decline is inaccurate. According to Trump’s former White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, Trump knows when he is lying, and outrageous lies like the one that he told on Thursday are intentional.
Lying and repeating lies is Trump’s strategy.
Trump is melting down because his lies can’t hide the reality that he is probably about to lose hundreds of millions of dollars.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
