In a significant development, a group of prominent business leaders and politicians have begun to voice their concerns over the politicized legal actions against conservative leaders, including former President Donald Trump.
This comes in the wake of 91 indictments and over $600 million in penalties against Trump, which have been widely criticized as politically motivated.
Among those speaking out are former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Joe Lonsdale, co-founder of Palantir. In a recent op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal, they condemned the activist courts for targeting conservative leaders for political gain.
In an interview with CNN, Lonsdale expressed his concerns, stating, "The whole system right now is being weaponized, and it's scary and it's wrong. This is what happens in emerging markets. It's not what happens in great countries like America, and we need it to stop."
Bush, in his critique, warned that the government's weaponization against Trump and Elon Musk poses a serious threat to business and the rule of law in the United States. He emphasized that while it is acceptable to criticize Trump's politics or Musk's public persona, the recent rulings represent a crisis for the soundness of our courts and the business environment that has allowed the U.S. to prosper.
Bush and Lonsdale's concerns stem from recent court rulings, including one by Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Court of Chancery in Delaware. McCormick ordered the unwinding of five years of Musk's incentive-based compensation at Tesla, which had been approved by 80% of the company's shareholders. The plaintiff, Richard Tornetta, held nine shares in 2018worth about $200 then and $2,000 today, after the execution of the compensation plan that supposedly injured him.
Musk's compensation plan awarded him stock bonuses tied to earnings and stock-value benchmarks, which many critics thought he could never meet. When he did, he received $56 billion, enriching shareholders like Tornetta along the way. However, Judge McCormick's ruling may primarily enrich Delaware trial lawyers.
In another case, New York Attorney General Letitia James used an unusual law to investigate and sue Trump. The Associated Press found that of the 12 cases brought under that law since its adoption in 1956 in which significant penalties were imposed, the case against Trump was the only instance without an alleged victim or financial loss.
Bankers from Deutsche Bank, which lent money to Trump, testified that they were satisfied with having done so, given they were paid back on time and with interest. They also testified that they were uncertain whether the alleged exaggerations would have affected the terms of the loans to Trumpa key part of James's case. Since there were no victims, the state will collect the damages.
Bush and Lonsdale's op-ed also highlighted the outsized role New York and Delaware play in U.S. business. Many major companies are incorporated in Delaware due to the state's body of corporate legal precedents, and a significant number of banks operate in New York, the world financial capital. They urged the appellate courts in these states to review these dangerous judicial rulings and try to stop further damage to the reputations of their respective judiciaries.
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