The United States Department of Justice has subpoenaed New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had successfully filed a civil lawsuit against US President Donald Trump for alleged fraud in his business dealings.
Friday’s subpoenas come as the department convenes a grand jury to investigate whether James, a Democrat, violated the civil rights of President Donald Trump and other Republican-affiliated entities.
Anonymous sources with knowledge of the subpoenas confirmed their existence to The Associated Press and other news agencies.
According to the media reports, the grand jury will not only probe whether Trump’s rights were violated by the fraud lawsuit, but the subpoenas will also seek information about a second lawsuit James launched against the National Rifle Association (NRA), an influential gun lobby group.
A spokesperson for James’s office did not confirm the subpoenas but rejected any wrongdoing.
“Any weaponisation of the justice system should disturb every American”, the statement said. “We stand strongly behind our successful litigation against the Trump Organization and the National Rifle Association, and we will continue to stand up for New Yorkers ‘ rights”.
James’s personal lawyer, Abbe Lowell, also said in a statement that her legal team was “ready and waiting with the facts and the law”.
“Investigating the fraud case Attorney General James won against President Trump and his businesses has to be the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president’s political retribution campaign”, Lowell said.
A history of in-court clashes
The reports on Friday revealing the subpoenas have fuelled criticism that Trump is increasingly weaponising the Justice Department to settle scores.
Trump faced numerous legal challenges, both civil and criminal, during his period out of the White House from January 2021 to January 2025. He is the first US president to not only face criminal charges but to be convicted.
James, meanwhile, was among the officials who spearheaded civil proceedings against him.
She took office in January 2019 and has since filed several lawsuits against Trump and his policies.
But one of the most high-profile has been the 2022 case in which she accused Trump of inflating the value of his assets — including his real estate properties and golf clubs — to defraud banks and lenders.
In February 2024, Trump and his sons were ordered to pay $454m in the case, though the president continues to appeal that ruling. Trump has argued his financial statements actually under-valued his assets.
Separately, James successfully filed a lawsuit against the NRA and its founder, Wayne LaPierre, for misusing millions in funding for the group. Trump maintains close ties to the anti-gun control lobby group.
Revenge on political adversaries?
For years, Trump has alleged that he is the subject of a political “witch hunt”.
Those who prosecuted him, he argues, have abused their office for political gain, in an alleged effort to dampen his popularity among voters.
Trump has expressed particular ire towards James, calling her a “horrible person” and a “total crook” in May.
That month, the Justice Department, under his authority, opened an investigation into James’s real estate holdings, alleging she misrepresented her property records to obtain more favourable loans.
Trump has also argued that statements James made on the campaign trail indicate her political bias against him.
While running for office in 2018, for instance, James called Trump “illegitimate”, “incompetent” and “ill-equipped to serve in the highest office of this land”.
Friday’s subpoenas come on the heels of other investigations that critics perceive as retribution from Trump against his political adversaries.
Just this week, the Department of Justice also announced it would open an investigation into members of the administration of former President Barack Obama, a longtime target of Trump’s criticisms.
The probe centres on intelligence community reports examining whether Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election, which Trump won.
The reports concluded that Russia sought to sway the election through disinformation, though no votes were tampered with. They also suggested that Russia favoured Trump over his Democratic rival, something Trump has since described as an effort to delegitimise his victory.
Trump has since accused Obama of “treason”, although no evidence has emerged of wrongdoing.
The Department of Justice has also recently sought to purge career employees who worked on two federal criminal cases filed against Trump after he left office in 2021.
Source: Aljazeera
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