ALBANY (1010 WINS) – Donald Trump is suing New York Attorney General Letitia James in an effort to end her lengthy civil investigation into his business practices.
Trump and his company, the Trump Organization, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in Albany.
James’ office and an attorney for Trump confirmed the lawsuit following a New York Times report Monday morning.
The former Republican president wants a judge to halt James’ years-long probe, arguing it’s politically motivated and that his constitutional rights have been violated.
Trump’s lawsuit alleges James’ “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.”
James, a Democrat, has spent more than two years looking at 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.
Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, told the Washington Post that James is targeting him “with a callous disregard for the ethical and moral obligations she swore to abide by when she became Attorney General.”
“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,” Habba said.
James released her own statement, saying the investigation would continue despite the suit.
“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,” James continued. “Our investigation will continue undeterred because no one is above the law, not even someone with the name Trump.”
In her statement, James noted that courts have ruled in her favor multiple times since August 2020, when her office filed a motion to compel the Trump Organization to provide documents and testimony from multiple witnesses regarding several Trump Organization properties and transactions.
Earlier this month, reports said James is looking to get Trump to testify at her office in January as part of her probe.
Trump, who hasn’t been accused of wrongdoing in the case, has previously slammed James’ investigation as a “witch hunt.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is conducting a parallel criminal investigation into Trump's business dealings.
Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr., who is leaving office at the end of the year, recently convened a new grand jury to hear evidence as he weighs whether to seek more indictments in the investigation.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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