New York State Attorney General Letitia James Photo credit Scott Heins/Getty Images
The suit, filed by Trump attorney Alina Habba on Monday in federal court in upstate New York, argues that James’ history of anti-Trump statements and her Democratic Party ties have prompted a series of “baseless” probes into Trump, his business and his family members.
“We will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family as well,” James told NBC News. “We want to investigate anyone in his orbit who has, in fact, violated the law.”
The suit was assigned to Syracuse-based U.S. District Court Judge Brenda Sannes, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama. The case likely faces an uphill battle in court because federal judges very rarely order a state prosecutor to halt an investigation or refrain from bringing charges in a particular case.
“The Trump Organization has continually sought to delay our investigation into its business dealings and now Donald Trump and his namesake company have filed a lawsuit as an attempted collateral attack on that investigation,” James said. “To be clear, neither Mr. Trump nor the Trump Organization get to dictate if and where they will answer for their actions. Our investigation will continue undeterred because no one is above the law, not even someone with the name Trump.”
The suit from Trump appears to be a counterpunch to efforts by James’ office to force Trump to testify in a civil fraud investigation. The Washington Post reported earlier this month that James has demanded that Trump appear and give testimony in New York on Jan. 7.
The precise contours of James’ fraud investigation are unknown, but her office has been cooperating with Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., whose prosecutors are conducting a criminal investigation into alleged business, insurance, bank and tax fraud.
Navy Vet
Article URL : https://www.politico.com/news/2021/12/20/trump-sues-ny-attorney-general-525736