Donald Trump Sues New York AG Letitia James in Bid to Block Probe Against Him

The lawsuit accused the prosecution of being politically motivated, but James remained unperturbed.

Former US President Donald Trump. 

(Photo: IANS/Albin Lohr-Jones/Pool)

Former US President Donald Trump has sued New York State Attorney General Letitia James, CNBC reported.

The lawsuit filed in an Albany federal court intends to stop her long-running civil investigation into Trump's business practices and to prevent her from initiating or contributing to a separate criminal investigation against him.

A separate criminal investigation that is being conducted by Manhattan district attorney Cyrus R Vance Jr is being assisted by James.

What Does the Lawsuit Say?

The lawsuit argues that the attorney general's "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 involvement."

Accusing James of being politically motivated, Trump's statement released on Monday, 21 December, read that the former's inquiry was nothing but "a continuation of the political witch hunt that has gone on against me [him]."

James, who is from the Democratic Party, said in a statement that the investigation will carry on.

"To be clear, neither Trump nor the Trump Organisation get to dictate if and where they will answer for their actions," it added.

Why is Trump Being Investigated? 

James is probing the Trump Organisation, which is an umbrella organisation consisting of hundreds of businesses owned by the former president.

The attorney general has accused the organisation of inflating the value of real estate assets so that it can obtain bank loans and insurances at more profitable rates.

This strategy would also help in lowering the amount of taxes that it would have to pay.

While Trump is arguing in his lawsuit that James has a political bias against him, legal experts say that there is no constitutional protection against a prosecutor's bias.

There is, however, protection against abuse of law.

Jonathan Smith, who is the executive director of the Washington Lawyers Committee, told the New York Times that Trump's strongest argument in the lawsuit is that James abused the powers vested to her by the attorney general's office.

"The abuse of process is the one that I think comes closest. If they can actually show that her purpose is retaliatory or politically motivated, that violates the ethics rules," Smith said.

(With inputs from CNBC and the New York Times)