Sez AG used like ‘bludgeon’ vs. his biz

Don

He’s in a New York state of ire.

President Trump unleashed a torrent of Twitter anger on his home state Monday, accusing Gov. Cuomo and Attorney General Letitia James of laboring to make him look “bad” while trashing New York’s “ridiculously high” taxes.

Trump’s fire-in-all-directions missive did not come in response to any particular announcement from either James or Cuomo, though the state AG has for months aggressively pursued several investigations into the president’s various New Yorkbased businesses.

“It is very hard and expensive to live in New York. Governor Andrew Cuomo uses his Attorney General as a bludgeoning tool for his own purposes,” the Queens-born president posted.

“They sue on everything, always in search of a crime…Now Cuomo’s A.G. is harassing all of my New York businesses in search of anything at all they can find to make me look as bad as possible. So, on top of ridiculously high taxes, my children and companies are spending a fortune on lawyers. No wonder people and businesses are fleeing New York in record numbers!”

The Empire State state recently lost more than 40,000 people, according to a 2018 census count.

It wasn’t clear if Trump thumbed out the four-tweet thread to preempt an announcement from James’s office — a practice he has engaged in before.

James stayed clear of any major announcement and opted for the high road.

“I have a sworn duty to protect & uphold state law,” James tweeted. “My office will follow the facts of any case, wherever they lead. Make no mistake: No one is above the law, not even the president.”

Cuomo, speaking on an unrelated conference call with reporters, responded by taking a shot at Trump’s apparent lack of state government understanding.

“Maybe his attorney general is his tool,” Cuomo said, referring to Attorney General William Barr, who’s drawn rebuke for being overly protective of the president. “In New York, the attorney general is separately elected. I don’t appoint the attorney general.”

The governor continued, “If he has nothing to hide, he has nothing to worry about. His paranoia is once again getting the better of him.”

Trump’s Twitter spree refocused attention to his scandal-scarred foundation, which was forced to close down after James’ office found last year that the entity had engaged in a “shocking pattern of illegality,”