An analysis of the more than 3,500 lawsuits filed against Donald Trump and his companies over the last three decades reveals a shocking number of small business people who have been stiffed by Trump after performing services for him.

Hundreds of small businesses, including plumbers, painters, woodworkers, cabinet makers, and contractors filed lawsuits or liens against Trump and his properties for non-payment or slow payment.

Trump claims that the reason he didn't pay is because the work they did was substandard or they didn't finish.  But are there really that many incompetent small business people out there?  Or did Trump, who would tie these people up in court for years, draining their resources, simply play hardball with them?

USA Today:

At least 60 lawsuits, along with hundreds of liens, judgments, and other government filings reviewed by the USA TODAY NETWORK, document people who have accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them for their work. Among them: a dishwasher in Florida. A glass company in New Jersey. A carpet company. A plumber. Painters. Forty-eight waiters. Dozens of bartenders and other hourly workers at his resorts and clubs, coast to coast. Real estate brokers who sold his properties. And, ironically, several law firms that once represented him in these suits and others.

Trump’s companies have also been cited for 24 violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act since 2005 for failing to pay overtime or minimum wage, according toU.S. Department of Labor data. That includes 21 citations against the defunct Trump Plaza in Atlantic City and three against the also out-of-business Trump Mortgage LLC in New York. Both cases were resolved by the companies agreeing to pay back wages.

In addition to the lawsuits, the review found more than 200 mechanic’s liens — filed by contractors and employees against Trump, his companies or his properties claiming they were owed money for their work — since the 1980s. The liens range from a $75,000 claim by a Plainview, N.Y., air conditioning and heating company to a $1 million claim from the president of a New York City real estate banking firm. On just one project, Trump’s Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City, records released by theNew Jersey Casino Control Commission in 1990 show that at least 253 subcontractors weren’t paid in full or on time, including workers who installed walls, chandeliers and plumbing.

As an ex-small businessman, I can tell you that the single biggest reason many of us failed was due to slow pay.  Half my clients were in arrears.  Some never paid me.  As a businessman, Trump took advantage of his deep pockets and squashed small business people.

I'm sure some – perhaps many – of the contractors and sub-contractors stiffed by Trump performed work not up to spec.  But if Trump hired so many incompetents, what does that say about his acumen in recognizing talent? 

Whatever his excuse for the lawsuits, nothing can excuse his refusal to pay minimum wages or overtime.  This is the champion of the working man?  Sheesh.

Thomas Lifson adds:

I smell Hillary oppo research being leaked to the media.  How many thousands of contractors, sub-contractors, and sub-sub-contractors have been hired by Trump projects over the decades?  Having managed a few very small construction projects, I can tell you that disputes are normal.  Lots of contractors chisel on details, substituting cheaper materials, and otherwise fail to live up to their commitments.

Neither Rick nor I know anything about the specifics of any of these disputes.

This is just an opening salvo.  Hillary has hundreds of people digging through everything Trump ever did.  There will lots more of this – count on it.