Trump sues NY attorney general, seeking to stop investigation into his company

By CNN

Published December 20, 2021 10:26 AM

By Sonia Moghe, CNN

Former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization have sued New York Attorney General Letitia James, asking for a federal court to halt or limit her office’s ongoing investigations.

The lawsuit, which comes on the heels of James’ office seeking to depose Trump as part of its civil fraud investigation into the Trump Organization, also seeks to enjoin James’ involvement in any civil or criminal actions against the former President or his company.

The suit, filed in federal court in Northern New York Monday, accuses James of misconduct, claiming she has abused her investigatory powers to target her political adversaries and advance her career.

“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 states.

James responded to the suit in a statement Monday, saying the Trump Organization has repeatedly attempted to delay her office’s investigation into its business dealings and called the suit an “attempted collateral attack.”

“To be clear, neither Mr. Trump nor the Trump Organization get to dictate if and where they will answer for their actions,” James said in the statement. “Our investigation will continue undeterred because no one is above the law, not even someone with the name Trump.”

The suit cites comments James made from her 2018 campaign for New York attorney general through recent comments she made on “The View” last week, accusing her of openly flouting her duty to remain neutral in public.

James’ office is investigating whether the Trump Organization manipulated the value of its properties. Her office is also working with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s office on a parallel criminal investigation into the Trump Organization. The two investigations are separate, but some attorneys from James’ office have been designated to work on the criminal investigation, which is ongoing.

Trump’s suit accuses James of “relentlessly pushing” Vance’s office into a criminal investigation of the Trump Organization. A spokesman for Vance’s office declined to comment.

Attorneys for Trump ask for a declaratory judgment stating that James has violated Trump and the Trump Org’s rights, privileges and immunities and that her investigations constitute “impermissible state action” and an “abuse of power.”

“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.

This story has been updated with comment from James.

CNN’s Devan Cole contributed to this report.

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