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.
Sure, it's all about Trump. NOT. You're ignoring there were other investors for 40 years who offered her boatloads for the property. In the end it was falling in on itself and bought at auction $583k and promptly bulldozed.
Pipelines don't buy land, they lease rights of way. We have swarms of pipelines up here, all well below plow depth. There are rules about how close they can be to a home, and everything--and I mean everything from surface 'damages' to farmland to location of the line, to pumping, pig shooting, and compressor stations is specified in the leases.
The landowner retains ownership of the land, unless they decide to sell a location for a compressor station or such.
Lease terms are negotiable and generous, and the State has a body to oversee the emplacement and operation of pipelines. Failure to fulfill the terms of the lease are cause for criminal and civil action.
I visited there last summer and a guy I met on the walking path on the bridge over the Arkansas river told me all about it.
Clinton scooped up some really beautiful property.
When you use the government to make someone sell something they don’t want to sell, that’s TAKING it.
That’s not a “deal”. That is raw power and force used by a rich casino owner against an old woman. All to benefit Mr. Donald Trump.
Just because he did not succeed in taking doesn’t mean he didn’t try. And there’s the rub.
I wish Trump would offer me $250,000 for my old house so I could move to better place in the mountains. LOL!
This old lady as you call her was holding out for even MORE money, she really didn’t give a damn about the house and sold it for far less in the end!!! Believe what you will but this is the LAW and Trump NEVER tried to take advantage of her!!!!
ME TOO, Georgia Girl, ME TOO!!!!
If you think Cruz is being unfair, wait until Trump is the nominee. This widow will be in our faces 24/7. Hillary will look like Mother Teresa as she comforts whatever family of that poor woman they can find. Every employee of Trump who was canned will be paraded in front of all Republicans running for office. All of us will have to defend his boorish language and behavior.
Gee, I can’t wait... NOT.
“How many folks would EVER get 3 times the value of their home in a sale!!!”
Trump used the eminent domain ruling to try to get her house for 250k, UNDER MARKET VALUE.
“This entire story is pure BS!!!”
Cite one thing that is factually incorrect in the story.
“If it was a property the government wanted...”
It wasn’t, so that’s irrelevant.
“You want to blame ANYONE for this law BLAME the Supreme Court!!!!”
This was long before the Supreme Court decision. That’s why Trump was not successful in this instance.
“Trump was being MORE than fair with this woman”
You think using the government to try and steal someone’s property because they don’t want to sell to you at the price you offer is FAIR?!?!?!?
Your facts about this case are ENTIRELY wrong, you NEED to go and investigate this case before you just believe 1 untrue post!!!!
The reaction to this story on FR today has really pulled the mask off the Trumpites. They don’t respect private property rights. We have a word for people who don’t respect private property rights, and I’m gonna just go ahead and say it:
WE CALL THEM MARXISTS
The Supreme Court approves abortion too. Does that make it right?
“Cruz implies”
LOL. You can’t take issue with what he said, so you have to try to construct a straw man to attack.
How about forget the Cruz ad and deal with the FACTS that actually happened which paint Trump in an extremely bad light? Attacking Cruz doesn’t make that go away.
“You’re ignoring there were other investors for 40 years who offered her boatloads for the property.”
You’re ignoring the fact that Trump owned all the property surrounding this parcel, so the only possible beneficiary of the eminent domain grab was TRUMP.
It is STILL the LAW!!! We may not agree with the LAW but it is THE LAW!!!!
This as it was back in the 1970s when the Penthouse Boardwalk Hotel and Casino began
construction around it after not being able to purchase.
Then in 1993 Trump bought several lots around the Coking home to use as parking area for
his Trump Plaza property. Coking wouldn't sell to Trump and Atlantic City started condemnation
proceedings. Coking won the comdenation proceedings. In 2010 Coking moved to CA to be with her
grandson. The property was place on the market for $5 million, didn't sell. Reduced to $1 million
and still didn't sell. It was finally placed at auction and sold for $580,000 to purchaser Carl Icahn July 31, 2014.
Trump wasn't involved nor was the Atlantic City gov't when the property was auctioned off.
If your house was in downtown Atlantic City, in a booming casino district, and that offer was made under the barrel of government duress, I think you’d be singing a different tune.
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Sorry, no!
Legislation from the bench is not law, it is tyranny.
Congress has the power to correct those egregious errors, but not the moral spine.
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