NY attorney general urges end to Donald Trump's bid to thwart her probe
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[January 27, 2022]
By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York State
attorney general Letitia James on Wednesday urged the dismissal of
Donald Trump's lawsuit seeking to stop her civil probe into him and his
family business, where she claims to have found evidence of possible
fraud.
In a filing with the U.S. District Court in Albany, New York, James said
legal matters in her nearly three-year probe into the former U.S.
president and the Trump Organization were more appropriately and
efficiently handled in ongoing proceedings in a state court in
Manhattan.
She accused Trump of waiting to challenge her probe until he was
subpoenaed to testify, calling the Dec. 20, 2021 lawsuit a wrongful
means to escape a court order in the state case requiring him and his
company to honor her subpoenas.
"State-court losers" cannot ask a federal judge to override such orders,
James said. "This lawsuit is nothing but a baseless and meritless
collateral attack by Donald Trump to stop our legal and legitimate
investigation."
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/humanesociety_sda022411.png)
Alina Habba, a lawyer for Trump, said in an email: "Once again, Letitia
James fails to address her egregious and unethical conduct in her weak
response to our complaint."
Trump, a Republican, has accused James of being motivated by partisan
animus, calling her probe a "witch hunt" and a "thinly veiled" effort to
malign him and his associates.
James, a Democrat, repeated on Wednesday that "no one is above the law."
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![](../images/012722pics/news_h15.jpg)
New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks after receiving
endorsements from Westchester County leaders for her bid for New
York governor in White Plains, New York, U.S., December 2, 2021.
REUTERS/Joy Malone/File Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2022/Jan/27/images/ads/current/2021_lda_Businessdirectory.png) The attorney general has been
investigating whether Trump and his company inflated real estate
values to obtain bank loans and reduced them to lower tax bills.
On Jan. 18, James said her office uncovered misleading statements
about the values of six Trump properties, including golf clubs and
Trump's own penthouse in Trump Tower, as well as the "Trump Brand."
She suggested that the use of inflated valuations were "part of a
pattern to suggest that Mr. Trump's net worth was higher than it
otherwise would have appeared."
James has also subpoenaed Trump's children Donald Trump Jr. and
Ivanka Trump to testify.
She can sue Trump and his company, but cannot file criminal charges
because her probe is civil.
Trump has not been criminally charged.
James' probe partially overlaps a criminal probe by the office of
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg into the Trump
Organization's practices. James joined that probe last May.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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