Donald Trump promised retribution when he launched his successful bid for a second term in the White House. And while the president-elect has said little publicly since defeating Kamala Harris by a surprisingly comfortable margin, his surrogates have been spreading the word that his threats of revenge weren’t just campaign bluster.
On Thursday, Mike Davis, rumored to be on the shortlist for attorney general, issued a crude warning to New York attorney general Letitia James, who earlier this year won a $454 million civil fraud judgment against the real estate mogul on charges he inflated his net worth by billions of dollars in order to secure more favorable loans and insurance rates.
Trump has appealed the ruling.
“I dare you to try to continue your lawfare against President Trump in his second term,” said Davis, founder of the Article III Project, which advocates on behalf of conservative judges.
Trump has repeatedly called for James to be prosecuted, earning her a spot on the Republican standard-bearer’s enemies list.
“Listen here, sweetheart,” Davis said during an interview on “The Benny Show” podcast. “We’re not messing around this time, and we will put your fat ass in prison for conspiracy against rights. I promise you that.”
Davis’ remarks reinforce the worst fears of Trump critics who asserted that Trump’s vengeful rhetoric shouldn’t be dismissed as campaign bluster — a rationalization assumed by some supporters. After all, they countered, were any political rivals prosecuted during Trump’s first term?
But circumstances have changed. Trump, emboldened by Tuesday’s election results, claims voters gave him a mandate, and the Republican-controlled Senate has already signaled he’ll have wide latitude to govern.
He’s also expected to surround himself with enablers and acolytes like Davis, who are eager to carry out his agenda.
James said she’s been preparing for the possibility of Trump returning to power.
“We’ve studied their platforms. We’ve identified certain possibilities, fact patterns. We’ve created contingency plans. So no matter what the next administration throws at us, we’re ready,” James explained. “We’re ready to respond to their attacks. We’re ready to respond to any attempts to cut or eliminate any funding to the great state of New York as the governor outlined.”
Davis, formerly chief counsel for nominations to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), said if she continued to pursue legal action against Trump, she would be in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 241 — “conspiracy against rights.”
“I can imagine that the Trump 47 Justice Department is not going to have any patience for this Democrat lawfare over the next four years,” Davis told Newsmax.
In a statement issued after Trump’s re-election, James vowed to “stand tall in the face of injustice, revenge and retribution.”
“We will continue to protect our most vulnerable and marginalized amongst us,” she said. “This is not the time to be fearful, New York, but faithful and steadfast, knowing that I, as the Attorney General, along with my entire team, we are guardians of the law. And we are prepared, my friends, to fight back.”
