NY attorney general is urged to end Donald Trump’s bid to block his investigation | WKZO | All of Kalamazoo

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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 its civil investigation into him and his family’s business, which it claims has seen evidence of possible fraud.

In a filing in U.S. District Court in Albany, New York, James said the legal issues in his nearly three -year investigation into the former U.S. president and the Trump Organization are more appropriate and well -handled in the ongoing proceedings in a state court in Manhattan.

He accused Trump of waiting to challenge his investigation until he was subpoenaed to testify, calling the lawsuit on Dec. 20, 2021 a wrong way to escape the court order in the state case requiring him. and to his company to respect his subpoenas.

“State court losers” cannot ask a federal judge to override such orders, James said. “This lawsuit is nothing but a baseless and unworthy collateral attack by Donald Trump to stop our legal and legitimate investigation.”

Alina Habba, an attorney for Trump, said in an email: “Again, Letitia James failed to address her serious and unethical behavior in her poor response to our complaint.”

Trump, a Republican, accused James of being motivated by partisan animus, calling him a “witch hunt” and a “thinly veiled” attempt to discredit him and his comrades.

James, a Democrat, reiterated Wednesday that “no one is above the law.”

The attorney general is investigating whether Trump and his company increased real estate values ​​to get bank loans and reduced them to lower tax charges.

In Jan. 18, James said his office discovered fraudulent statements about the values ​​of six Trump properties, including golf clubs and Trump’s own penthouse in the Trump Tower, as well as the “Trump Brand. “

He suggested that the use of inflated estimates was “part of a pattern to suggest that Mr. Trump’s net worth was higher than would otherwise appear.”

James also subpoenaed Trump’s sons Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump to testify.

He can sue Trump and his company, but cannot file criminal charges because his investigation is civil.

Trump has not been charged with a criminal offense.

James ’investigation partially overlaps a criminal investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office into the Trump Organization’s practices. James joined the investigation in May.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

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