Friday Morning Brief October 6, 2023

Oct 5

Member Highlight: Assemblyman J. Gary Pretlow

For today’s Member Highlight, Assemblymember J. Gary Pretlow joined us to talk about himself, his district, and his experiences working in the Assembly. First elected in 1992, Assemblymember Pretlow has worked on various issues that have impacted all New Yorkers. From Mount Vernon, he is dedicated to his constituents and strives to better their lives. He is currently the Chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Racing and Wagering and he sits on various committees, including: Codes; Insurance; Rules; Ways & Means; the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus; and the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force.

What district do you represent? Can you describe it for those that have never been there? What do you like the most about your district?
My district is the greatest district in the State of New York. I represent a very widely diverse population. I have a lot of ethnic enclaves, as all districts do. I’ve been an Assemblyman for a number of years and I enjoy what I’m doing. People seem to like me - they keep reelecting me so that’s a good thing. It’s just a good district to represent. Mount Vernon and Yonkers border each other but they are completely different in personality. It’s like going from one country to another. Maybe other districts are like that also, but it works for me.

What do you mean by Mount Vernon and Yonkers having different personalities?
I think I mean the economics. Yonkers is the third largest city in the state. It has a lot of potential tax revenue, whereas Mount Vernon doesn’t. Mount Vernon is a city of 67,000 people in four square miles. There are only 11,000 taxable parcels in the entire city, but the expenses are all the same. You still have schools, you have police, you have firefighters. The ability to raise sufficient funds to pay the individuals that work in those areas is a challenge for the city. For Mount Vernon, if you take tax-to-value it has one of the highest tax rates in the state and it’s not a wealthy city at all.

What did you do before becoming a legislator?
I was a financial planner. I did various things like being an insurance agent. I sold insurance, I dabbled in mortgage brokering. I also was on the Mount Vernon City Council.

Is that why you got into politics?
It never was my intention to get into politics. I became a city councilperson because back in the early 80s, Mayor Thomas Sharpe passed away. The Council President at the time was Ron Blackwood and he ascended to the mayorship. He was actually the first Black mayor elected in the State of New York. When he became mayor, he left a seat on the City Council. Then party Chair, David Floyd, asked me if I wouldn’t mind filling in until the next election. This was in March of 1984 and that September they asked me to run. So I ran in the Primary and I won, and I stayed there as Council President for six years. During reapportionment in 92’, I was asked if would consider running for Assembly, since Mount Vernon didn’t have an Assemblyperson. And I said yes, and I ran for that. I won the primary. I ran against then Yonkers’ Deputy Superintendent of Schools Joe Palmer. The district was almost 50-50 between Yonkers and Mount Vernon, a little more in Yonkers than Mount Vernon. I won that Primary by 37 votes, which is another testament to the fact that every vote counts. That was 30 years ago. So that was how I got into it. I never intended on running for the Assembly. I was asked to do it and I did. I guess it was my tenacity or my outgoing personality.

What made you want to be a legislator and what is your favorite part of being a legislator?
I have more than one favorite part. One is being in service to my constituents - helping people and getting them through government. Getting through issues that come up and guiding them through state regulations; getting things done like unemployment insurance and Medicaid. The other thing is having opportunities to meet a lot of different people that I normally wouldn’t meet, from Presidents to Prime Ministers to regular men and women on the streets.

What are/is your greatest/proudest legislative achievement(s) in your thirty years of service?
One of the first things that comes to mind is Cynthia’s Law, which I did that several years ago. It rose awareness to shaken baby syndrome. The Law brings to life what shaken baby syndrome is and how you have to handle a newborn.
I’m also proud of the social worker licensing law. Prior to its passage, the field of social work was not licensed. Anyone could call themselves a social worker, but many people did not have the qualifications to be a social worker. The licensing law mandated the education and training necessary to be a social worker.
Also, several years ago, I made a promise to the racing industry that I would make NY the racing capital of the world over Kentucky, even after a lot of pushback.
Other thing I did that I’m really proud of is the VLT Law, which did two things:

It saved around thirty thousand jobs in the racing industry.
It raised billions of dollars for education through the state revenue from the VLTs.

More recent is the sports betting bill. I helped with the constitutional amendment for casinos in NYS even though at the time sports betting was illegal in every state except Nevada. I put in the state constitution that should sports betting ever become legal, NY would be on board to participate. It took a while, but NYS became the sport betting capital of the world. In the first year, it generated almost $10 billion in handle and over a billion in state revenue, which mostly went to education.

Any favorite priority/issues throughout your legislative career?
From my previous answers, helping people and raising funds for education. Children are 30% of our population but 100% of our future. I think doing everything we possibly can for education is a good thing. I’ve always done things that benefit education.

Was the social worker licensing bill the most challenging piece of legislation/policy that you worked on this year?
When you are doing scope of practice bills, it’s always difficult. When we did the social worker’s bill, the challenging part was taking the ability to do social work away from people that called themselves social workers without having the necessary education or training. People that did drug counseling for newly released incarcerated people would go to someone calling themselves a social worker who was not necessarily trained as a social worker. It was a lot of intricate work. But I did what I could, and got it done. And I think it’s better for the State of New York.

As Chair of the Racing & Wagering committee, any priorities you foresee coming up next year?
It’s not totally in my hands, but the redevelopment of Belmont Racetrack because Belmont is a huge property and it has not been taken care of very well. So, we did what we could to maneuver and allow NYRA to get funds from the VLTs – that’s where the money is coming from – to refurbish that racetrack. One of the offshoots of that is now we are going bring the Breeders Cup back to NY, where it was for a number of years. The Breeder’s Cup is bigger than the Kentucky Derby, it’s huge. There is now an agreement that once the Belmont Track is rebuilt, the Breeder’s Cup is coming to NY, which is really a good thing for the State of New York. Another thing is enhancing the breeding industry in NYS and raising our stock in the standardbred industry.

What kind of music do you like - any favorite bands/artists?
I am stuck in the 70s. I guess I’m old school. Even though I represent Mount Vernon and Yonkers, which is a huge supplier of hip hop artists, many of whom I know personally, I’m still doing the disco. Glory Gaynor and Donna Summer, those are my peeps.

Do you dance often to disco music?
Oh no, there aren’t any discos anymore. There is no place to dance! I used to go to roller rinks with disco music and roller skates back in the day. But I haven’t seen a roller-skating rink…I don’t know if they still exist. But no, I don’t dance to disco. But I still have my disco whistle somewhere!

How about sports - any favorite NY sports team and any favorite sports/activities to play?
I used to be a Mets fan, but I always liked the Yankees. But as a Mets fan I couldn’t root for both, so I shifted to the Yankees. It’s unfortunate that this year is not a good year for Aaron Judge. He’s missed fifty games so far this year and the Yankees aren’t doing very well. But my favorite sport is actually golf. I’ve been playing golf for several years, but I’m not very good at it. As I've gotten older, a lot of stuff hurts and since I’m not Tiger Woods I cannot play through the pain. I tend not to play now but I like the game because it’s challenging. You are actually playing against yourself and it’s a difficult game. It looks easy if you watch the pros.

Favorite foods? Any favorite places to eat in your district?
There is a little pizzeria near my office called Pizza King. It’s my go-to place to eat. I’m not big on fancy or over-prized food, but I do like food that taste good. And Pizza King does a good job, whether you are getting a regular pizza or anything else. Mount Vernon is home to Joe’s Pizza, which supposedly has the best pizza in the State of New York. It’s a little place off of Lincoln Avenue. But Pizza King is my go-to restaurant. I love Italian food, quick food, and good food and they do all three.

What do you like to do if you have free time?
I like to go sailing. I have this old boat that I spend more time repairing than sailing. Unfortunately, this year I did not go out once for the entire year and the season is over. But I did a lot of work on it over the summer when I had the time. This was a bad summer, it rained almost every weekend. And I’m busy, I’m busy in the office. I come into the office six days a week, sometimes seven days a week. It’s not uncommon to see me at nine o’clock at night working, it’s just what I do.

What advice would you give to young folks getting into politics?
If a young person is interested in getting into politics, don’t think you know everything. There’s a lot of intricacies in making a law – what’s involved in it. Ask a lot of questions of people that have been doing it for a while. Get some knowledge about the whole process, how it works and what politics really is. If you have the opportunity to be on the coattails of someone, follow around and hang with them. Go in and actually get involved in the legislative process to see what exactly is involved.

What are your priorities/goals for next year?
One of the things I would like to work on next year is fixing the fiscal inequities that Mount Vernon is now suffering. 700 of the 11,000 taxable parcels are behind in taxes and behind for more than two years. So, one of thing I want to work on is helping the individuals that are behind on their taxes; setting up payment plans or trying to take away penalties and interests on taxes. The Supreme Court ruled about a month ago that cities and states that confiscate properties, if they auction them off, they can only take a proportion that applies to taxes and not additional money. So that is going to cause a lot of cities to sell tax liens. What’s going to happen, and which has happened, is that buyers of tax liens will get very aggressive and will kick the people out of their homes. Then they will keep the property and sell it for a huge profit. I really do not want that to happen.

What is your office going to focus on for the remainder of this year?
Right now, we are very focused on community service. I just did a school supply giveaway a couple of weeks ago to help young people going back to school. We will probably do another Thanksgiving dinner giveaway in November. So just a lot of constituent services right now.

Any last comments you want to share?
Being an Assemblyperson is a great honor. I appreciate the trust that the people of Yonkers and Mount Vernon have put in me to represent them in Albany. And I’ll continue doing this.

Are you a public official or staffer that would like to be featured in our spotlight? If so, reach out to your favorite D&A team member or contact us at team@dickinsonavella.com to set up an interview!

EXECUTIVE UPDATES

To combat the growing incidence of antisemitism in the state, Hochul announced a series of state actions on the heels of President Biden’s national strategy to counter antisemitism. These include the following:

Establishing the New York State Anti-Hate in Education Center and Annual Convening to combat hate and antisemitism.
The State Division of Human Rights announced new plans to improve hate and bias incident data collection and will establish small grants for community anti-bias work.
The Office of Victim Services will simplify the Victim Compensation Application to expand support for victims of antisemitism by allowing access to reimbursement.
State Police will re-launch law enforcement focused Hate Crime Investigative Seminars.
The Office of Mental Health has established the Spotlight on Jewish Americans Campaign to recognize specific mental health issues plaguing the Jewish community.

“As Governor of the State with the largest Jewish population outside the State of Israel, I feel a solemn responsibility to protect and uplift New York’s vibrant, diverse Jewish communities,” Hochul explained.

To support the state’s CLCPA goal of reducing greenhouse emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and then to 85% below 1990 levels by 2050, Hochul announced the adoption of mandatory emission limits on concrete used in state-funded public building and transportation projects. This builds upon Executive Order 22 - issued by Hochul last year - which directs state agencies to adopt a sustainability and decarbonization program to collect data regarding common construction materials, including concrete. “By setting mandatory emissions limits on concrete used in state-funded projects, we’re not just leading by example but creating a tangible roadmap for reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the board,” Hochul said.

To further support the state’s goals of reducing greenhouse emissions and achieving economy-wide carbon neutrality, Hochul announced $165 million in funding for environmentally sustainable transportation projects across the state. Funding will be given to projects that create new bicycle and pedestrian facilities (and enhance existing ones), improve public transportation access, create safe school routes, convert abandoned railway corridors to pedestrian trails, and help reduce congestion. Local governments, regional transportation authorities, transit agencies and tribal governments will be eligible for the awards, alongside any school districts and non-governmental organizations in partnership. The awards will be at least $500,000 and up to $5 million for any project.

Last week, to support the state’s expansion of housing opportunities near MTA transit hubs, Hochul announced the start of construction on St. Clair, a 76-unit affordable apartments and commercial real estate development in downtown Yonkers. St. Clair is part of Hochul’s $25 billion comprehensive Five-Year Housing Plan that will create 100,000 affordable homes across the state, including 10,000 for vulnerable populations. In addition to supporting the state’s housing initiative, the development will also support Hochul’s clean energy agenda, with the development subject to environmental standards by NYSERDA and the Development Authority’s Clean Energy Initiative. “The St. Clair is proof that we can work hand-in-hand with our local partners to create housing that is affordable, sustainable, and that connects New Yorkers to jobs, to schools, to doctors, and to the services they need to thrive,” explained Hochul.

Last Sunday, Hochul issued a proclamation recognizing October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month in the state and directed all state landmarks to be illuminated purple on October 1st and October 19th to honor those impacted by domestic violence. In addition, the Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence will conduct weekly Domestic Violence 101 training and Gender-Based Violence Awareness Training for Social Service Districts. The Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence will also collaborate with the Office of General Services to host the state’s Clothesline Project and with Syracuse University to host a Start the Conversation: Engaging Men and Boys Panel.

Recently, President Biden extended by 18 months Temporary Protected Status to 472,000 Venezuelan asylum-seekers, allowing them work permits and legal immigration status. To assist their cause, Hochul announced $38 million in new state funding to increase NYC’s effort in providing legal services for asylum-seekers. This $38 million builds upon an existing $50 million investment from the state to support legal services and casework for asylum-seekers. Additionally, the state will collaborate with NYC to open additional Asylum Application Help Center satellite sites, launch roving teams within emergency shelter sites to help asylum seekers apply on the spot for TPS and work authorization, and schedule TPS appointments.

In addition to supporting asylum-seekers’ legal services, Hochul announced on Monday that the state identified more than 18,000 job openings, with nearly 400 employers willing to hire asylum-seekers with legal work status. This comes after Hochul successfully collaborated with the federal government to provide Temporary Protected Status to asylum-seekers from Venezuela and directed the Department of Labor to conduct outreach to employers for possible job openings in August. Additionally, Hochul launched a public awareness campaign to help more employers hire asylum-seekers. These efforts build upon Hochul’s $1.7 billion investment in supporting asylum-seekers for shelter, transportation, and social services. “Right now, we have a migrant crisis and a workforce crisis. By connecting work-eligible individuals with jobs and opportunity in New York, we can solve them both and secure a brighter future for all New Yorkers,” Hochul explained.

Applications to legally grow, process, distribute, and sell cannabis for all individuals and businesses opened on Wednesday. Hochul announced that the Office of Cannabis Management would launch new partnerships with municipalities and state agencies to further crackdown on the illegal sale of cannabis and to support the legal cannabis industry. The Office of Cannabis Management will increase financial penalties and potential for store closures for those caught illegally selling cannabis. To date, the Office of Cannabis Management and the Department of Taxation and Finance have seized more than 8,500 pounds of illicit product with an estimated value of more than $42 million. “My Administration is laser-focused on shutting down illegal storefronts, protecting the health and safety of children, and helping small businesses thrive. We will continue working to build the most equitable adult-use cannabis industry in the nation that invests in communities and rights the wrongs of the past,” Hochul explained.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

Senator Mike Gianaris with representatives of D&A client, Center for Secure and Modern Elections, Ashish Sinha, Chief of Staff with the Institute for Responsive Government (IRG) and Kathy Boockvar, IRG Sr. Advisor and former Pennsylvania Secretary of state

Legislative Package Expanding Early Mail-In Voting & Protecting Voter Rights Signed by Hochul

On September 20th, Hochul signed a legislative package aimed at protecting voting rights in the state, improving election education and increasing voter access. One of the laws signed by Hochul was expanding mail-in voting, which enables all voters to request early mail ballots. “Voting is a fundamental right, and the easier we make it to vote, the healthier our democracy will be,” explained Senator Mike Gianaris, the bill’s Senate sponsor. These laws build upon the enactment of the state’s John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, which was approved by the Legislature last year. In support of Hochul, Speaker Carl Heastie said, “The Assembly Majority will continue to work with our partners in government to safeguard our democracy and to ensure every eligible voter has the opportunity to cast their ballot and have their vote counted.” The bills signed were:

S6195/A1177: allows absentee ballots to be counted if they have been taped and show no signs of tampering.
S5984/A6132: establishes a “Golden Day” on the first day of early voting period, allowing individuals to register to vote and cast their ballots at their polling location on the same day.
S6519/A1565: establishes a deadline for changing location of a polling place for early voting
S7394/A7632: enables all eligible voters to vote early by mail and be able to request mail ballots up to ten days prior to an election
S5965/A4009: requires local jails to provide voter registration information to those being released.
S587/A268: requires the state’s Board of Elections to develop and provide a training program for poll workers.
S1733/A5180: requires all local boards of elections, BOCES, charter schools, and non-public schools to adopt policies that promote student voter registration and pre-registration.
S7550/A7690: schedules the Presidential Primary Election for April 2nd, 2024.
S350/A5874: prohibits “forum shopping” in constitutional challenges for election cases.
S438/A928: prohibits “faithless electors” in presidential elections.

Stefanik Files Suit Against Expanded Mail-In Voting

Directly after Hochul signed the bill expanding early mail-in voting, the state’s Conservative and Republican Parties, alongside the National Republican Congressional Committee and the state Republican congressional delegation, sued Hochul and the State Board of Elections in an attempt to stop its implementation. Led by Representative Elise Stefanik, the lawsuit challenges the early mail-in voting bill as “unconstitutional” since the state constitutional amendment expanding mail-in voting was rejected by voters in 2021. Many bill supporters argue that expanding early mail-in voting is constitutional and will increase voter access and turnout in the state. The Senate sponsor, Senator Mike Gianaris, explains that he and other advocates “will not cede this critical ground…as we continue to make it easier for people to vote.”

Human Trafficking Legislative Package Signed by Hochul

Last week, Hochul signed a legislative package intended to spread human trafficking awareness, extend the Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking for an additional four years and add the state's Secretary of State to the Task Force's membership. "Preventing and combatting human trafficking requires a concerted effort by many state agencies; and the bill that Governor Hochul is signing today provides longer authorization for these agencies to do their critical work," explained Senator Roxanne Persaud, one of the bill's sponsor. The bills signed were:

S4263/A3227: requires Port Authority airports to provide information that may be useful for human trafficking victims in lactation rooms.
S4267/A4669: requires Port Authority bus terminals to provide information on services available to human trafficking victims in lactation rooms.
S5527/A3720: requires the MTA to post information that may be of use to victims of human trafficking in their facilities
S6213/A4264: requires truck stops to provide information on services available to human trafficking victims in lactation rooms
S7451/A7360: adds the state Secretary of State to the members of the Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking and extends the task force for an additional four years

Lawmakers Urge Hochul to Sign the LLC Transparency Act

Last week, lawmakers rallied in Manhattan to urge Hochul to sign the LLC Transparency Act. The rally was led by the bill’s sponsors, Assemblymember Emily Gallagher and Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal. They were joined by Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymembers Tony Simone and Alex Bores. If signed, LLCs would be required to disclose the names of the beneficial owners at the time of formation or qualification to do business in the state. The bill is modeled after the federal Corporate Transparency Act, which mandates similar reporting requirements. The bill would “assist law enforcement and regulators by creating a database of beneficial owners of LLCs while also adding protections for significant privacy interests,” explained Hoylman-Sigal.

Democratic Socialist Lawmakers Urge Further Actions on Asylum-Seekers Crisis

Late last month, 20 Democratic-Socialist congressional, state and local lawmakers signed a joint letter laying out various actions designed to help assist the state and NYC in the ongoing asylum-seekers crisis. The letter calls for the state to tap into the state’s $13 billion “economic uncertainties” fund, enforce the statewide Right to Shelter law, and increase housing in next year’s legislative session. Senator Julia Salazar signed the letter and urged for a special session to be reconvened in order to deal with the crisis. However, Speaker Carl Heastie has reiterated that there are currently no discussions occurring about returning for a special session and Senate Democratic spokesperson Mike Murphy said, “We have no plans to come back.”

Lawmakers Urge Tax and Finance to Provide Free Tax Filings

Late last month, Senator Andrew Gournades and Assemblymember Alex Bores sent a letter to Amanda Hiller, Acting Director of the state Department of Taxation and Finance, urging her agency to provide a free direct tax filing in the state. Of note, the IRS recently announced its plan to test drive a new electronic free-file tax return system next year. Both Gournades and Bores promise to support a free direct tax filing in the state “including through statutory authorization or a budget appropriation.” This comes as the state agencies' budget requests are due on October 11th.

Senator Harckham Calls for New State Office to Deal with Flooding

With repeated heavy rainfall and flooding across the state, Senator Pete Harckham urged the state to establish the Office of Flooding and Storm Water Management to “help municipalities prepare for the increasing intensity of rainfalls and high-velocity winds associated with climate change.” Under his proposal, $500 million a year will go towards the new office. It is hoped that the new office will address the “backlog of structural inadequacies in dealing with the volume of stormwater” that has recently hit the state.

OTHER UPDATES

State Redistricting Case Set for November 15

The state’s Court of Appeals will hear arguments on whether to redraw the state’s congressional lines on November 15th. This comes after the Court of Appeals declined to make the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission start drafting the new boundaries immediately. Over a year ago, the Court of Appeals struck down the boundaries for the Senate and Congress (drawn by the Democrat-controlled Legislature), ruling that it was intentionally gerrymandered. This led to the current boundaries being drawn by an independent special master. Currently, Democrats are arguing that the current boundaries for Congress are only intended to be a temporary one-time measure and thus asked to be redrawn, while the Republicans are seeking to keep the current boundaries until the next decade. The state’s Independent Redistricting Commission also recently invited the “members of the public to submit any additional input they may have on congressional districts.”

State Agencies to Freeze Spending in Budget Proposals

In an annual “call” letter to state agency commissioners, Budget Director Blake Washington explained that agencies’ budget requests “should not exceed the total FY 2024 Enacted Budget agency funding levels, excluding one-time investments.” This comes after the Division of Budget is projecting $36 billion in budget gaps over the next three years, - $9.1 billion next year, $13.9 billion the following year, and $13.4 billion the year after that. These projected budget gaps are caused by decreasing tax revenue and less federal aid, in addition to increased spending. The letter also states that Hochul does not want to raise taxes or rely on the state’s $19.5 billion in reserve funds. Under state law, the state budget is required to be balanced. Agency budget requests are due by October 11th.

Congress Avoids Government Shutdown

Late last Saturday, Congress approved a bipartisan 45-day funding bill, narrowly avoiding a government shutdown. Although President Joe Biden did not get aid to Ukraine in the spending bill, it did increase federal disaster assistance by $16 billion and did not include spending cuts. The passage of the spending bill resulted in Florida Representative Matt Gaetz successfully leading an unprecedented motion to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which was joined by the House Democratic Conference and seven other Republicans. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries cited McCarthy’s unwillingness to compromise with the Democrats as the reason to vote against him and explained, “It is now the responsibility of the GOP members to end the House Republican Civil War.” The House is currently searching for a new Speaker, while North Carolina Representative Patrick McHenry is the interim Speaker. One of the name floated around for Speaker is Donald Trump.

President Biden Impeachment Inquiry

House GOP initiated an impeachment inquiry into President Biden last week, with the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chair James Comer stating that the panel has “uncovered a mountain of evidence.” The impeachment inquiry comes after a months-long investigation of Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings and accusations that President Biden profited from his son’s business dealings while serving as Vice President between 2009 and 2017. The Biden Administration denies any wrongdoing and said the House Republicans have no basis for an impeachment inquiry.

Eric Adams Travels to Latin America

On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams started his four-day trip to Latin America amidst the ongoing asylum-seekers crisis. At a press conference on Tuesday, Adams explained, “We want to give people a true picture of what is here. We are at capacity.” Adams planned stops in Mexico, Colombia and Ecuador to “counteract those forms of communications that are basically saying ‘You come to the City of New York, you’re going to automatically have a job, you’re going to be in a five-star hotel.’” The trip comes as an estimated 600 asylum-seekers arrive in the city on a daily basis, with over 117,000 arriving in the past year. “It would be foolish for me to sit back and not try to stop this on a local, state, national, and international level,” explains Adams.

Trump Civil Fraud Trial

On Monday, Trump’s civil fraud case trial brought by NYS Attorney General Letitia James began Trump and his two sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, are accused of fraud, falsification of business records, issuing false financial statements, and conspiracy alongside the Trump Organization. James is seeking $250 million and a limitation on Trump’s ability to conduct business in the state. Judge Arthur Engoron ruled last week that there was "conclusive evidence" that Trump overvalued his properties and net worth while applying for business loans. Trump recently appealed Judge Engoron's inflated assets ruling, denied any wrongdoings, and accused James of election interference.

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