NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s Justice Department is zeroing in on New York Attorney General Letitia James with a subpoena for records related to the $454 million civil judgement she won against Trump for lying about his wealth, a person familiar with the matter has told The Associated Press.
The subpoena is part of an investigation into whether James violated Trump’s civil rights, another person said. The people could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke Friday to the AP on the condition of anonymity.
Another subpoena seeks records related to James' lawsuit involving the National Rifle Association, a person familiar with the matter said. On top of that, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi recently named a special prosecutor to help conduct a mortgage fraud investigation into James.
James has sued Trump and his Republican administration dozens of times over his policies as president and over how he conducted his private business empire. Trump vowed on the campaign trail to seek retribution against his opponents, and the moves against James are among the most serious yet against Trump’s political foes by the Justice Department.
Here’s what to know about James and the escalating investigations:
James says she's being politically targeted
The Democratic attorney general has denied any wrongdoing and said the mortgage probe is politically motivated.
Her personal attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, called the subpoenas “improper.”
“Weaponizing the Department of Justice to try to punish an elected official for doing her job is an attack on the rule of law and a dangerous escalation by this administration,” Lowell said.
‘The art of the steal’
James is the first Black woman elected to statewide office in New York, the state’s first Black attorney general and the first woman elected to the post. She fixated on Trump during the 2018 campaign, branding him as a “con man” and pledging to shine a “bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings.”
As soon as she took office, James launched several lawsuits over his immigration and environmental policies. She inherited a state lawsuit against Trump’s charitable foundation and steered it to a settlement that included a $2 million fine.
She filed another civil lawsuit against Trump in September 2022, alleging that his company deceived banks, insurers and others by overvaluing assets and his net worth on financial paperwork.
“It’s the art of the steal,” she said when announcing the case against Trump, turning the title of Trump’s book “The Art of the Deal” against him.
Trump says James never intended to be fair
In 2024, a New York judge ruled that Trump lied for years about his wealth and ordered him to pay $354.9 million in penalties plus nearly $100 million in interest.
Trump is appealing the judgement. He also posted a $175 million bond to halt the state from collecting what he owes and seizing his assets.
Trump says his financial statements actually understated his wealth and that any mistakes in the documents were harmless errors that played no role in banks’ lending decisions. He and his lawyers repeatedly accused James of engaging in “lawfare” for political purposes — a claim she denies.
Trump has long criticized James′ legal volleys as political theater designed to catapult her to fame. Trump also complained that her comments about him, prior to her election, show she never intended to be fair.
'Corporate death penalty'
In her role as a regulator of charities and nonprofit groups registered in New York, James sued the NRA and its longtime leader Wayne LaPierre. A jury last year found that LaPierre misspent millions of dollars and used the organization's funds to pay for an extravagant lifestyle, while the NRA itself failed to properly manage its assets and violated whistleblower protections.
A New York judge also banned LaPierre from holding a paid position with the organization for a decade, but declined to appoint an independent monitor to oversee the group.
James had sought to dissolve the powerful gun advocacy organization, however a judge ruled that the allegations did not warrant a “corporate death penalty.”
Mortgage fraud investigation
FBI Director Kash Patel in May confirmed James was being investigated after a Trump administration official accused her of mortgage fraud. James’ lawyer says the accusation was a lie based on a purposeful misreading of documents.
The investigation centers on forms James signed in 2023 while helping a niece buy a home in Norfolk, Virginia. One form stated that James intended to occupy the home as her “principal residence.” But in other documents, James made clear she had no intention of living there. An email to the mortgage loan broker two weeks before she signed the documents stated the property “WILL NOT be my primary residence.”
This week, Bondi named Ed Martin as a special prosecutor to help conduct a mortgage fraud investigation into James, according to the person familiar with the matter. James denied any wrongdoing and called the claim politically motivated.
Martin leads the Weaponization Working Group, which is examining Trump’s claims of anti-conservative bias inside the Justice Department. Martin's nomination for District of Columbia U.S. attorney was pulled amid Republican lawmakers’ concerns about his scant prosecutorial experience and support for Jan. 6 rioters.
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