Donald Trump’s latest attempt to avoid accountability drew a rebuke from New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The twice-impeached, one-term, failed president filed a civil rights lawsuit against Attorney General Jeff Sessions, alleging that Sessions had violated his civil rights by issuing subpoenas to him, his family, and his business, as well as by identifying Trump as both president and private citizen.
“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 in a statement.
“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.”
As her agency investigates suspected fraud at Trump’s family-owned Trump Organization, Trump has repeatedly insulted James, and James has demanded that Trump give a deposition.
Former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization have sued New York Attorney General Letitia James, requesting that her office’s current investigations be halted or limited by a federal court.
The lawsuit, which follows James’ office’s request to depose Trump as part of its civil fraud investigation into the Trump Organization, also attempts to prevent James from taking any civil or criminal action against Trump or his organization.
The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Northern New York, accuses James of misconduct, alleging that she used her investigative authority to attack political opponents and boost 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.
In a statement released Monday, James said the Trump Organization has consistently tried to stall her office’s investigation into its financial dealings, and that the complaint is an “attempted collateral attack.”
The lawsuit references comments that James made during her 2018 campaign for New York attorney general, as well as comments she made last week on “The View,” accusing her of openly violating her responsibility to stay neutral in public.
The Trump Organization is being investigated by James’ office for allegedly manipulating the value of its assets. Her office is also working on a parallel criminal probe into the Trump Organization with Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s office.
Although the two investigations are distinct, several attorneys from James’ office have been assigned to the continuing criminal inquiry.
