Donald Trump Files Lawsuit Against New York Attorney General to Block Fraud Investigation Into His Business

By Mary Webber First Posted: Dec 20, 2021 08:05 PM EST

Former U.S. President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Monday against New York Attorney General Letitia James in his bid to block the civil fraud investigation into his company.

Trump and the company Trump Organization claimed in the lawsuit that James has violated their rights under the U.S. Constitution by pursuing a politically motivated investigation, according to a Reuters report.

Syracuse, New York received the lawsuit from Trump after James' office announced that it would probe the Trump Organization over its valuations of properties.

Trump's attorney, Alina Habba, said in a statement that they intend to not only hold James accountable for her blatant "constitutional violations," but also to "stop her bitter crusade" to punish James' political opponent in its tracks.

The lawsuit noted that the state probe is "baseless" and malicious" intended to harass Trump and violate his constitutional rights.

A person familiar with the matter said that James had been looking to remove Trump under oath on January 7 as part of the two-year investigation, according to an Aljazeera report.

James suspended her run for governor of New York earlier this month. She then started the probe in 2019 to know if Trump's company in Manhattan had been working over the value of the key assets for tax and insurance reasons.

Trump's camp had included an August 2018 tweet James posted before she took office.

James said in the tweet to "just wait until I'm in the Attorney General's Office."

Fraud Investigation on Trump's Company and Lawsuit

James responded with a statement regarding the lawsuit that was filed against the New York Attorney General's Office. She said that the former president and his company was reportedly seeking to delay her investigation.

James said that their investigation will continue undeterred as no one is above the law, not "even someone with the name Trump," according to an NBC News report.

Trump also released a statement, replying to James' assertion. He said that it was not about the delay, but about the Constitution.

The former president went on to say that James was nothing but a "corrupt official doing the dirty work" of her own party.

James is also aiding the Manhattan district attorney's criminal investigation against Trump over tax fraud schemes, wherein the case charged its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with tax fraud this year.

The company and Weisselberg have pleaded not guilty on the charges.

Meanwhile, the attorney general refuted claims of the investigation being politically motivated.

Former Trump's lawyer Michael Cohen testified before Congress in 2019, wherein he admitted that Trump inflated his assets when needed.

The former president also deflated his assets to reduce his real estate taxes, according to Cohen.

Cohen was sentenced in 2018 to three years imprisonment. The Manhattan federal judge called Cohen's case a "veritable smorgasbord" of criminal conduct.

Cohen's charges include facilitating secret payments to women who claimed they had had affairs with Trump, as well as lying to Congress about the former president's business dealings with Russia.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Trump Sues New York Attorney General - from CBS New York