Sparks fly between CNBC hosts over Letitia James indictment

“Squawk Box” co-hosts Joe Kernen and Andrew Ross Sorkin clashed Friday over the indictment of Democratic Attorney General Letitia James of New York on fraud charges.

A federal grand jury indicted James on two counts on Thursday about mortgage fraud allegations surrounding a house in Norfolk, Virginia. Sorkin decried the fact that James vowed to investigate Trump during her initial campaign for attorney general in 2018, leading to a testy exchange.

“I’m hoping that they can be appointed. Right. I think they should be appointed in these roles. And hopefully, therefore, then they’re going to be independent. I actually very much dislike the idea that people can run on a — you know, run for a position like this and say, ‘I’m going to go prosecute Donald Trump or I’m going to prosecute anybody else.’ That’s terrible,” Sorkin said, with Kernen responding, “Well, now you’re saying that.”

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“No, I’ve said this my whole life. I think it’s a terrible idea,” Sorkin said, with Kernen firing back, “I just don’t remember. You know, I’m getting older. I’m getting older. I don’t remember any of that in the last administration.”

James sued Trump in September 2022, alleging he overstated the value of real estate holdings in order to obtain loans. Real-estate experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation that New York Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling greatly undervalued Mar-a-Lago, the Florida estate owned by Trump, which some considered to be worth more than $250,000,000.

Engoron ruled Feb. 16, 2024, that Trump was to pay $354 million, with additional penalties pushing the total amount owed to over $450 million. A New York appeals court ruled in August that the penalty issued by Engoron violated the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against excessive fines.

“But I also think specifically, the president of the United States is, given his role at the top of the pyramid, has a moral duty that’s much higher than all of these other people who are running around doing terrible things, to try to model the right behavior. And that, I think, is a real thing,” Sorkin said, with Kernen responding, “Like the Biden Administration.”

Special counsel Jack Smith secured multiple indictments against Trump during the Biden administration, stemming from allegations involving classified documents and Trump’s efforts to contest the results of the 2020 presidential election.

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