Posted on 01/22/2016 12:44:18 PM PST by Republican Wildcat
Please click the link for the video of this report from the Institute for Justice who represented Vera Coking against Donald Trump and won in court. Here is a transcript of the same:
In the video: Dana Berliner of the Institute for Justice (appears to be a property rights advocacy group), Donald Trump, John Stossel, Vera Coking
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Clip of ABC News report playing interviewing Trump.
TRUMP: In life you have a thing called condemnation and cities have the right to condemn for the good of the city - whether it's New York, whether it's Los Angeles, whether it's any other place. Atlantic City is one of those cities and it's got the right to condemn.
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BERLINER: In the 1990s, Donald Trump was behind an outrageous case of eminent domain abuse. Vera Coking was an elderly widow who lived for decades in her home beside Atlantic City's boardwalk. She loved that home, and Donald Trump wanted Vera's home so he could put in limousine parking for his casino across the street.
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TRUMP: Everybody coming into Atlantic City sees that property and it's not fair to Atlantic City and the people. They're staring at this terrible house instead of staring at beautiful fountains and beautiful other things that would be good.
STOSSEL: You're bullying these people out because they're -
TRUMP: Excuse me - that's wrong. For you to use the word 'bully', John, is very unfair. This is a government case - this is not Donald Trump.
STOSSEL: Yes it's Donald Trump - it's you and your cronies in government working together.
TRUMP: For you to call these people cronies is very unfair - to call good public servants cronies.
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BERLINER: An unaccountable state agency tried to condemn Vera Coking's property and transfer it to Donald Trump. He convinced the government officials to use their eminent domain power to take Vera's home. This was public power - but used for private gain.
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TRUMP: We have been so nice to this woman. I offered her a lot of money - out of this (pointing to chest) - a little thing called 'heart'
COKING: Heart??? He doesn't have no heart, that man. The only thing he has - is what he's - worry about himself.
STOSSEL: Basic to freedom is that you if you own something - it's yours - the government just doesn't come and take it away from you!
TRUMP: Do you want to live in a city where you can't build schools? Do you want to live in a city where you can't build roads or highways or have access to hospitals? Condemnation is a necessary evil.
STOSSEL: But you're not talking about a hospital! You're talking about a building a rich guy finds ugly.
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BERLINER: Across the country, land hungry developers have teamed up with tax hungry politicians to bulldoze people's homes and businesses on the mere possibility that the new, wealthier businesses will generate more jobs or more taxes. It is time to end this kind of abuse. Represented by the Institute for Justice, Vera Coking beat Donald Trump and saved her home.
Perhaps some background will help you;
“Carl Ichan managed to snag a much coveted Atlantic City property that real estate moguls like Donald Trump had tried to acquire for years but failed to and it only cost him $583,000. He was revealed as the winning bidder in an auction for it from last summer.
The property, Vera Coking’s seaside boarding home, is a plain, square and somewhat drab brown three story old house. So why was it so important that the likes of Donald Trump had tried to get the widow to sell it to them for decades?
In three words, location, location, location.
The house is located right next to the Trump Plaza hotel and casino by the famed Atlantic City boardwalk. Trump wanted the lot to build yet another casino that would have bared his name. But perhaps considering the fate of his Trump Plaza and Taj Mahal, both now bankrupt, his failure to acquire the property may have been for the best.
Coking had turned down as much as $1 million from Penthouse magazine publisher Bob Guccione for the house and even went to court in the 1980s to stop Trump from trying to use eminent domain laws to seize it.
So what has changed? Cooking now resides in a retirement home in California and the house was sold at an auction. Trump, who has long since gotten out of the casino business, was not one of the bidders.
The building is already being taken apart ahead of its demolition. Asbestos is being removed and the windows are already gone.
Mr. Ichan has not revealed his plans for the site, but since he is trying to save the Taj Mahal which owes him more than $260 million he probably does not want to build yet another casino in Atlantic City.
The Press of Atlantic City reported rumors that the neighboring Trump Plaza might be demolished so that both lots can become part of an extension of the Boardwalk. This would be part of Atlantic City’s attempts at a renewal since the casinos failed to revitalize it.
Meanwhile union workers from the Trump Taj Mahal took to the streets to protest against Mr. Ichan who recently won a ruling in bankruptcy court which nullified the health and pension benefits that the hotel’s workers had under their contract.
Ichan said that the hotel could not survive if it needed to continue to pay the benefits.”
Guess we know your opinion on Roe Vs. Wade, ObamaCare and Gay Marriage. I guess if SCOTUS rules in favor of Obama's immigration EO, we can just forget that too.
Nevermind other investors were begging her to sell for long before Trump was on the scene. Nevermind she continued to live in her home two years after the final court ruling. It was 6 years until it went on the auction block. It’s not shocking that a 90 year old move to be near her relatives. Go ahead and blame Trump for her getting old.
I love my house, too. It’s seen 4 generations and I planned on dying here but if someone offered 4000 times what it’s worth, I’d invite them to help pack so we could get out pronto. As it was, that lady let her house fall to ruin, paid taxes on it for years while she was in CA and practically gave it away with not much for her family to inherit. So much for fighting for a cause. No one won except the guy who got it for a song and sent the bulldozers.
“This old lady as you call her was holding out for even MORE money”
Which was her RIGHT as a property owner in a free country.
“Believe what you will but this is the LAW”
It’s the law now, but it was not when Trump tried to do it, which is why he lost. The vast majority of CONSERVATIVES do not believe the Kelo decision which authorized these kind of eminent domain cases was proper... it’s actually a very big issue for those of us who, you know, have CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLES.
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FReerepuplic needs a Troll button.
We could then click it and send these thugs to a place where they fit in.
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You have to know what Trump is when he is on the opposite side from John Stossel.
.. something that serves no government necessity is not the same thing...
Insults score no points.
How is a corporate owned pipeline selling oil exclusively to Asia a public necessity?
Waiting...
I didn’t say I supported it, or didn’t. I don’t know a huge amount about it. And I certainly don’t encourage eminent domain use. But energy is definitely a compelling state interest. A tacky casino. (and I did see it in person) I have no problem rejecting it if they are trying to use eminent domain. I don’t know anything about that.
This country has gone soooo far past our CONSERVATIVE principles Ted Cruz could NEVER win the general!!! I support Trump because he CAN AND WILL win the general!!! He WILL build the damn wall and take care of our vets!!! Once the damn illegals are OUT of our country Conservatives WILL once again be able to WIN general elections!!!
..but energy is definitely a compelling state interest....
When the energy is sold go China by a private company? Maybe a
Compelling state interest to the Communist Chinese Government. Certainly not to the USA.
..but energy is definitely a compelling state interest....
When the energy is sold go China by a private company? Maybe a
Compelling state interest to the Communist Chinese Government. Certainly not to the USA.
Then we should go against the project. If I remember correctly, it was already nixed.
Video brings to mind Obama’s ads showing Paul Ryan(O’s new buddy) wheeling granny off a cliff.
Conservatives on the USSC ruled in her favor, Trump agreed with the liberals because he is one.
She didn’t have to move so everyone is happy.
2. Trump has a consistent habit of muddying the waters when an interviewer gets too close to the truth. In the Stossel interview, you can see that at 1:47 into the video. His argument will turn to schools, roads, hospitals -- WHATEVER he can use to divert your attention away from his thuggish bullying of the "little people" in order to advance his empire.
3. Another way he muddies the water is to veer off into an attack on someone about something, jabbering a mile a minute in desperate hopes that the interviewer can't get back to his line of questioning because it's drilling down to the truth.
4. Trump believes everyone on the planet is motivated by big bucks. He can't conceive of the idea that someone simply has an emotional attachment to their environment. Nor does he think it's fair for someone to stand on principle just for the sake of principle. He actually has people believing that the heavy in the Coking situation is the widow herself. HOW DARE SHE GET IN THE WAY OF HIS EMPIRE BUILDING!!?!??! Harrrrrumph!
5. I remember this board when the Kelo decision came down. FReepers were incensed across the board and rightfully so. I remember that there were many suggesting that someone should use eminent domain on Souter, forcing him to sell so that someone could build _________________________(fill in the commercial venture of your choice).
6. Republican Wildcat, you nailed it when you said this:
That is straight from the Democrats' playbook, isn't it? How many times have we heard that whine from the left? Enough times that if I had a $1 for each time, I could buy everyone on this thread a nice lunch. And yet, here's the frontrunner in the REPUBLICAN race revealing his position on this matter. He blabs so incessantly, I tend to tune him out. But the truth is, there's a lot to be learned by listening very carefully to every word when he gets diarrhea of the mouth.he event took the opportunity to take another swipe at conservatives at the end of this video that if we don't support it, it's apparently because we didn't get it explained to us properly...
You don’t know me. I made a lot of money flipping property. The first rule of real estate investing is never fall in love with a property. I would have sold that house in a NY minute no pun intended. LOL?
I think Cruz is a better candidate by far.
Trump has not explained any of his bad decisions or past stances.
But I’m tired.
This site has gone Trump.
I’m gonna take a couple of days off for my sanity.
I’m gonna try to sit tight and pray that Cruz wins Iowa and then eventually the nomination.
But the zombies will have to wake up.
Only a good deal if you want to move.
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