Washington (AP) – Department of Justice has been summoned New York Attorney General Leticia James As part of an investigation into whether she violated President Donald Trump’s civil rights, according to two people familiar with the issue.
The subpoena sought records relating to James’ alleged fraud in his personal business dealings and the lawsuit filed against Trump about a lawsuit involving the National Rifle Association. Another confirmed that the subpoena was related to a civil rights investigation. People were unable to publicly discuss the details of the investigation and spoke to the Associated Press on Friday, anonymous.
The summons mark an escalation of the Trump administration’s continued efforts to scrutinize the president’s perceived enemy, including people like James, who surveyed him before winning the election last November.
Geoff Burgan, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office, refused to confirm the subpoena, but said, “The weaponization of the judicial system should hinder all Americans. We stand strong behind successful lawsuits against the Trump organization and the National Rifle Association.”
In another statement, James’ personal attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, said, “If the prosecutor implements this inappropriate tactic and is truly interested in the truth, we are ready and waiting with facts and law.”
“James, the general investigating fraud case, won over President Trump and his business. His business must be the most blatant and desperate example of this administration running a political retaliation campaign for the president,” Lowell said. “Warning the Department of Justice to weaponize the Department of Justice to punish officials elected for doing her work is an attack on the rule of law and a dangerous escalation by this administration.”
Department of Justice spokesman Natalie Bardassar declined to comment.
Democrat James has He sued Trump and his Republican administration dozens of times. About his policies as president and how he carried out his private business empire. Trump is suing the multi-million dollar judgment she won against him in a lawsuit alleging that he fraudulent banks and other lenders by giving them financial statements that inflated the value of his property, such as Trump Tower golf clubs and penthouses.
Trump says his financial statements actually understated his wealth, and that mistakes in the documents are harmless mistakes that have not played a role in the bank’s lending decisions. He and his lawyers repeatedly accused James of engaging in the “law” for political purposes.
The news of the subpoena comes as the Justice Department is investigating an investigation into Trump Russia that hid Trump for most of his first term as president, and the administration is engaged in extensive purges from law enforcement workers who were involved in examining Trump and his supporters’ activities.
