New York AG Letitia James asks court to dismiss Trump’s lawsuit against her
The AG's Office questioned the timing of Trump's suit, coming near the end of its investigation, aimed at "distraction and delay."
The attorney general of the state of New York, Letitia James, filed a motion Wednesday asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit against her filed by former President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization.
Trump’s suit, which was filed in December, accuses James of violating the former president’s constitutional rights. “Her 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,” it argues, according to The New York Times.
In the filing to dismiss the lawsuit, James’ office writes: “The timing of this lawsuit against the Attorney General — coming only as OAG is nearing a conclusion of its Investigation, is contemplating the filing of an enforcement action, and has sought Mr. Trump’s sworn testimony — belies any notion that there is any objective behind this suit other than distraction and delay,” according to NBC News.
Further, the new filing notes that despite “having ample opportunity to do so,” the Trump Organization never challenged “the underlying legal basis for the Investigation or OAG’s statutory authority to conduct the Investigation. Until now — only after Mr. Trump was served with a subpoena.”
In the filing, James adds that her ongoing civil and criminal investigation has “uncovered substantial evidence establishing numerous misrepresentations in Mr. Trump’s financial statements provided to banks, insurers, and the Internal Revenue Service.”
She reiterated in a statement that she will not be deterred by lawsuits levied against her by Trump, adding, “no one is above the law.”
The Associated Press reports that Trump’s lawsuit claims the investigation is based on James, a Democrat, having a “personal disdain” for Trump and points to the fact that she has referenced the suit against his organization 76 times during her 2018 campaign.
In the new motion, James’ office writes that allegations of political bias based on “snippets of press releases, tweets and public appearances” are legally insufficient and ”do not support a plausible inference that the investigation lacks any objective, reasonable basis.”
James had intended to run for governor of New York in this year’s upcoming election. However, she suspended her three-month-old campaign in December to continue to pursue the investigation against the former president. James has instead opted to run for re-election as the attorney general.
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