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New York AG takes victory lap after Trump fraud ruling: ‘Justice has been served’

New York AG takes victory lap after Trump fraud ruling: ‘Justice has been served’

New York Attorney General Letitia James took a victory lap for the press following the fraud ruling against former President Donald Trump. James made the celebratory comments during a press conference at her offices in Manhattan on Friday. “Today, justice has been served. Today we proved that no one is above the law. No matter how rich, powerful or politically connected you are,” said James at a press conference on Friday after the ruling. The attorney general said the former president had generated deceptive business practices and tremendous fraud.” ERIC TRUMP CONDEMNS NY ‘SET-UP’: MY FATHER BUILT NYC SKYLINE AND THIS IS HIS THANKS “The scale and the scope of Donald Trump’s fraud is staggering and so too is his ego,” said James. “And his belief that the rules do not apply to him. Today, we are holding Donald Trump accountable.” Trump blasted “clubhouse politician” Judge Arthur Engoron Friday after he barred him from operating his business in New York for three years and fined him more than $350 million, defending the “great company” he built and telling Fox News Digital that the ruling is yet another example of Democrats “trying to stop” him, but that “they will not be successful.” Engoron handed down his ruling Friday after a months-long civil fraud trial beginning in October and stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit alleging the former president inflated his assets and committed fraud. TRUMP BLASTS ‘CLUBHOUSE POLITICIAN’ JUDGE AFTER BEING FINED $350M, DEFENDS THE ‘GREAT COMPANY’ HE BUILT “A crooked New York judge working with the very corrupt attorney general of New York State, who ran on the basis of ‘I will get Trump’ before knowing me — before even knowing anything about me — just ruled that I have to pay a fine of $355 million based on absolutely nothing,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “No victims. No damages. Great financial statements, with full disclaimer clauses, only success.”  In September, Engoron ruled that Trump and the Trump Organization had committed fraud while building a real estate empire by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing. In Engoron’s 92-page ruling, he criticized Trump and his testimony during the trial, saying that he “rarely responded to the questions asked, and he frequently interjected long, irrelevant speeches on issues far beyond the scope of the trial.”  CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The judge also barred Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York corporation or legal entity in New York for two years.  James brought the lawsuit accusing Trump and the Trump Organization of fraudulent business practices. The court proceedings were contentious, with Engoron repeatedly placing Trump under a partial gag order to prevent him from criticizing court staff. Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Crisis in the Northwest: Inside one of Oregon’s largest homeless camps with a former drug dealer

Crisis in the Northwest: Inside one of Oregon’s largest homeless camps with a former drug dealer

This story is part of a series examining the drug and homeless crises plaguing Oregon. Read part one, part two and part three. SALEM, Ore. — Matt Maceira remembers people throwing trash out their car windows at him as they drove by. But the insults they hurled hurt more. Worthless. Hopeless. Lost cause. “Hey low-life,” he recalled one man shouting. “Nobody loves you. Why don’t you kill yourself?” CRISIS IN THE NORTHWEST: DRUGS LEAVE RURAL AREAS TO ROT IN THE SHADOWS, ‘LIKE PLAYING WHAC-A-MOLE’ “I heard that all the time,” Maceira told Fox News, walking through the woods he used to call home. “Because I [was] homeless, which means I have less value, right?” “Said God never,” he added sarcastically. After 27 years in the drug world, Maceira is approaching a decade of sobriety. He travels around the world and his home state, sharing the gospel in hopes of inspiring others to rejoin society. Maceira is also a strong critic of Oregon’s policies around drugs, addiction and homelessness. Maceira was born into a world of drugs, violence and crime. He started drinking at 8 years old and, and when he was 11, his father introduced him to crank. He was stabbed for the first time that same year. “I used to call that fun,” he said of his bloody upbringing. His twin brother Rei developed chemical psychosis from prolonged meth use and took his own life shortly before their 24th birthday, Maceira said, sending him deeper into despair and addiction. But a pastor befriended Maceira, never giving up on him. And, after several more years, Maceira finally turned his back on the only way of living he’d ever known. “I have a totally new life today,” he said. “God changed my heart.” Oregon’s homeless population has grown 37.4% from 2020 to 2023, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The state has the second-highest percentage of homeless residents who are unsheltered (64.6%), behind only California (68%). State and local government spending on housing and other homeless services has also skyrocketed. OREGON DEMOCRATS BACKPEDAL AFTER MASSIVE PUBLIC OUTCRY AGAINST BILL ALLOWING HOMELESS TO SUE OVER ENCAMPMENTS Ahead of a forecasted ice storm, Maceira and volunteers from other nonprofits loaded up wagons with sleeping bags, wool socks, water and other gear, and headed into the woods behind Wallace Marine Park, located just across the Willamette River from the Oregon State Capitol. The park holds one of the largest homeless encampments in the entire state. “I see it solely as a blessing” to return to Wallace Marine Park, Maceira said softly. His bright blue sweatshirt, emblazoned with the words “Hope dealer,” stood out against the gray sky and bare trees. Some who live there “knew me when I was not necessarily the most friendly or approachable person.” Maceira smiled. “So I get to come back and genuinely love all these folks out here.” WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE Many of the people Maceira works with are also formerly homeless, like Aidan, who ran away from home at the age of 11. He spent most of the next 12 years living on the streets or in the woods behind Wallace Marine Park.  “I just got addicted to the streets,” Aidan said. “Drugs, crime, pretty much doing whatever I wanted to do.” But in October 2019, a month before the birth of his daughter, he had an epiphany. “I grew up without a dad,” he said. “I didn’t wanna put my daughter through that.” Now going on five years clean and sober, Aidan works for a medication-assisted addiction treatment facility and often returns to his old home, spreading the gospel and encouraging others to find their way out of the forest. As Maceira and other volunteers chatted with residents of the encampment, Aidan let 28-year-old Tyler borrow his phone. After a decade of methamphetamine addiction, Tyler called a treatment facility. “I’m just trying to get out of here and to do what I can to become a citizen of the outside world,” Tyler said after he finished giving the center his information. “To not live out here.” PORTLAND LEADERS FRUSTRATED, SAY CITY ALLOWED TO SET HARSHER RULES FOR CIGARETTES THAN FENTANYL: ‘IT’S INSANE’ For others, living in the woods is more comfortable than the claustrophobic feeling of being surrounded by four walls.  “I don’t know if I want to be indoors,” said Seven, who has been homeless since 2006, shortly after his mother died. “I’m not used to it.” Ressa, who was off the streets and in transitional housing for a time, agreed. “I couldn’t handle the four walls, the limitations and the lack of nature,” she said. “I don’t want to be stuck.” Asked how society can address homelessness when some individuals prefer living outside, Maceira paused. “If somebody tells you they like it, they like not bathing, they like not eating … or they are cool with eating food that’s no longer fit for human consumption, drinking creek water,” he said, trailing off. “If somebody tells you that they like any of that, they’re not doing well.” A 2018 HUD report estimated that about 27% of unsheltered homeless people were “severely mentally ill,” and about 21% suffered from chronic substance abuse. In the Portland area, drug overdoses accounted for nearly 40% of all homeless deaths in 2022. Fentanyl contributed to about 74% of those, according to a recent report from the Multnomah County Health Department. HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS REMAIN IN PORTLAND, DESPITE TENT BAN: ‘IT’S BULLS—‘ Addiction and homelessness went “hand in hand” for Maceira. And, while he acknowledged that’s “not everybody’s story,” Maceira is deeply critical of Oregon’s approach to the homeless crisis, which he said often neglects to address underlying causes. The “housing first” model is popular with those who insist that a lack of affordable housing is at the root of homelessness. It prioritizes giving homeless individuals housing without preconditions like sobriety or addiction treatment. “[That] doesn’t stop drug addiction” or address mental