Trump Hits Back Against NY Attorney General with Major Legal Action

By Abby Liebing December 20, 2021 at 3:45pm

New York state Attorney General Letitia James has been investigating former President Donald Trump for months. But Trump is hitting back with a lawsuit to halt James’ investigations.

According to The New York Times, Trump filed a lawsuit Monday against the attorney general, who has been pursuing a civil investigation into his business, as well as a separate criminal investigation.

Earlier this month, she announced she was dropping out of the race for New York governor see through the investigations her office is currently conducting.

I have come to the conclusion that I must continue my work as attorney general.

There are a number of important investigations and cases that are underway, and I intend to finish the job.

I am running for re-election to complete the work New Yorkers elected me to do.

— Tish James (@TishJames) December 9, 2021

Trump and his business, the Trump Organization, filed the lawsuit in federal court in the U.S District Court for the Northern District of New York, according to CNBC.

The move comes after James’ office tried to depose Trump as a part of the civil fraud investigation into the Trump Organization, CNN reported.

The lawsuit claims James is motivated by a political bias against Trump.

“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 states, according to The New York Times.

Do you think the New York state attorney general is using her office as a political weapon against Trump?

“Since taking office, she has tirelessly bombarded him, his family and his business, Trump Organization LLC, with unwarranted subpoenas in a bitter crusade to ‘take on’ the President,” the suit also states, according to CNN.

Over the past years, James did publicly speak out against Trump during his presidency, and used anti-Trump sentiment in fundraising.

“New Yorkers need a fighter who will take on Donald Trump & stand up for our rights,” she wrote in a Twitter post in 2018 while campaigning for the attorney general post.

New Yorkers need a fighter who will take on Donald Trump & stand up for our rights.

I’ll be that fighter.

Join my campaign.#TeamTish pic.twitter.com/xb95aJl5OT

— Tish James (@TishJames) July 1, 2018

In a statement, James’ office said the Trump lawsuit will not affect its investigations of the former president or his business.

“The Trump Organization has continually sought to delay our investigation into its business dealings. To be clear, neither Mr. Trump nor the Trump Organization get to dictate if and where they will answer for their actions,” the statement said, according to the New York Times.

Trump’s lawyers, however, said the suit was necessary to stop James from violating the Constitution for political purposes.

“By filing this lawsuit, we intend to not only hold her accountable for her blatant constitutional violations, but to stop her bitter crusade to punish her political opponent in its tracks,” Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, said in a statement, according to Reuters.

The New York Times reported that the Trump lawsuit argues that James violated Trump’s constitutional rights and due process.

“Absent judicial relief, James will continue to violate Plaintiffs’ rights in an unconstitutional manner and Plaintiffs will suffer imminent and irreparable harms,” the suit states, according to CNN.

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