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Trump Sues New York AG Letitia James for Violating his Constitutional Rights
On Monday, former Pres. Donald Trump sued New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James in federal court. This comes in an effort to block her long-running civil investigation into his business practices.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of New York. It argues that James’ inquiry into the former president’s business dealings, which has been going on for over two years, has gone against his constitutional rights.
In a statement released on Monday, the former president's attorney, Alina Habba, said, “Letitia James targets President Trump with a callous disregard for the ethical and moral obligations she swore to abide by when she became Attorney General.”
“She has short changed the state by commencing this partisan investigation and has forever tarnished the sanctity of her office,” Habba went on to say.
According to Habba, by filing the suit on Monday, the former president’s legal team aims “to not only hold her accountable for her blatant constitutional violations, but to stop her bitter crusade to punish her political opponents in its tracks.”
The said lawsuit comes after the New York attorney general sought the former president's testimony earlier this month during the ongoing civil investigations into the his business practices.
According to reports, James’ office asked for the former president to sit for a deposition on Jan. 7, 2022.
Her investigation has spanned for over two years and is also reviewing if the Trump Organization misled banks or tax offices regarding the value of assets – inflating them to get favorable loan terms or minimizing them to gain tax savings.
New York AG Described Trump Lawsuit as Another “Delay”
Following the filing of the lawsuit, the New York attorney general released a statement, criticizing the filing as another “delay” in her investigation.
“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,” she said in a statement on Monday.
“To be clear, neither Mr. Trump nor the Trump Organization get to dictate if and where they will answer for their actions,” James went on to say, adding, “Our investigation will continue undeterred because no one is above the law, not even someone with the name Trump.”
Also on Monday, James’ office noted that back in August 2020, the attorney general filed a motion to compel the Trump Organization to give ger office the documents and witness testimonies in connection to several “specific” transactions and properties of the organization.
“Since then, the court has ruled in Attorney General James’ favor multiple times,” her office stated on Monday.
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