Trump Sues NY State A.G. to Halt Civil Probe Into His Businesses

Donald Trump, who was supposed to appear for a January 7th deposition, has sued New York Attorney General Letitia James on Monday, resorting to a familiar but seldom successful strategy as he seeks to end a yearslong civil investigation into his business practices that he alleges is “purely political”.

In the lawsuit, Trump contends the probe into matters including his company’s valuation of assets has violated his constitutional rights in a “thinly-veiled effort to publicly malign Trump and his associates.”

News of the lawsuit, filed in upstate New York, was first reported by The New York Times. The case is assigned to Judge Brenda Sannes in Syracuse, who was appointed in 2014 by former President Barack Obama. Trump seeks a permanent injunction barring James from investigating him and preventing her from being involved in any “civil or criminal” investigations against him and his company, such as a parallel criminal probe she’s a part of that’s being led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. Although the civil investigation is separate, James’ office has been involved in both. Trump also wants a judge to declare that James “violated his free speech and due process rights”.

“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.” – Letitia James,
Attorney General of NYS pic.twitter.com/LwyDl2DaXh

— Hoodlum 🇺🇸 (@NotHoodlum) December 20, 2021

James has spent more than two years investigating whether the Trump Organization misled banks or tax officials about the value of assets — inflating them to gain favorable loan terms or minimizing them to reap tax savings. Last year, James’ investigators interviewed one of Trump’s sons, Trump Organization executive Eric Trump

The Trump Organization has continually sought to delay our investigation into its business dealings, and this lawsuit is yet another attack.
 
Mr. Trump doesn’t get to dictate this investigation. We will continue undeterred because no one is above the law.

— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) December 20, 2021

“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,” Trump’s lawyers wrote in the lawsuit, filed on behalf of Trump and his company, the Trump Organization.

the head of the Fuck Your Feelings Party sure is having a lot of feelings about being investigated by Letitia James

— Jeff Tiedrich (@itsJeffTiedrich) December 20, 2021

Trump’s lawsuit describes James, who is registered as a Democrat, as having “personal disdain” for Trump, citing numerous statements she’s made about him, including a boast that her office sued his administration “76 times.” True to his nature, the suit also includes tweets James wrote during her 2018 campaign, including one saying that she had her “eyes on Trump Tower” and that Trump was “running out of time.”

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Just a reminder that there would be no need to sue Letitia James or to obstruct justice if Trump knew he was innocent.

— Steve Redmond (@sjredmond) December 20, 2021

In a statement, James said: “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.”

Letitia James has Trump running scared.

— Mayo (@MayoIsSpicyy) December 20, 2021