Trump Suing New York AG Letitia James In Effort to Halt Investigation Into His Business
Donald Trump’s legal battle with Letitia James just went up a notch, as the former president is now suing the New York State attorney general over her investigation into potential business fraud.
The New York Times reports that Trump’s lawyers filed a lawsuit in upstate New York, accusing James of violating his constitutional rights over the course of her investigation, which his team has denounced as politically motivated. This comes after reports indicated James is trying to have Trump give a deposition to her office over his company’s alleged financial fraud.
“Her mission is guided solely by political animus and a desire to harass, intimidate, and retaliate against a private citizen who she views as a political opponent,” the suit says.
The investigation into the Trump Organization stems from accusations that they deceived lenders by inflating their asset values, but simultaneously low-balled their asset values for property tax reasons. The Trump Organization previously decried the probe as “another political witch-hunt,” adding that “The only focus of the New York AG is to investigate Trump, all for her own political ambitions…This political prosecution is illegal, unethical and is a travesty to our great state and legal system.”
James was expected to run for New York governor next year, but she suspended her campaign this month, so it is likely she will continue to oversee the investigation. James is also assisting Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance with his own investigation into Allen Weisselberg and alleged tax crimes within the Trump Organization.
UPDATE – 11:35 a.m. ET: James’ office has issued a response to the lawsuit:
.@NewYorkStateAG responds to Trump lawsuit pic.twitter.com/htKRnOajWK
— Zack Fink (@ZackFinkNews) December 20, 2021
Watch above, via CNN.
