WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Justice Department is investigating New York Attorney General Letitia James over her civil fraud case against President Donald Trump, a person familiar with the probe told Reuters on Friday, prompting James’ office to accuse Trump’s administration of politicizing the legal system.
Prosecutors have convened a grand jury and subpoenaed James’ office for documents about the lawsuit against Trump and a separate case she brought against the National Rifle Association, a gun rights group, the person confirmed to Reuters.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. A criminal investigation does not necessarily result in charges.
Abbe Lowell, a lawyer representing James, called the reported probe “the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president’s political retribution campaign.”
“Any weaponization of the justice system should disturb every American. 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’ office said in a statement.
The investigations mark an escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to use government power to pursue retribution against those who have investigated or publicly resisted Trump and his political agenda. James is one of several Democratic state attorneys general who have repeatedly sued to block Trump administration actions.
The civil fraud case, brought forward in 2022, resulted in a $355 million judgment against Trump last year after a judge found he fraudulently overstated his net worth to dupe lenders as he built his real estate empire. Trump is appealing the judgment, which has grown with interest.
A New York appeals court signaled skepticism about the case during a court hearing last year.
Trump has repeatedly accused prosecutors of bringing the case against him for political reasons. The Trump administration’s Justice Department has been scrutinizing the lawsuit as part of review of so-called weaponization of the government against Trump and his supporters.
In the NRA case, a New York jury last year found the group’s former leader and others liable for years of financial mismanagement. The NRA’s lawyers alleged the group was targeted because of its political advocacy.
The Justice Department is examining whether the cases brought by James deprived Trump and others of their civil rights, according to the person knowledgeable about the investigation, who did not provide evidence for the inquiry. The probe was first reported by Fox News and The New York Times.
Trump faced the same charge as part of a now-dismissed federal case accusing him of plotting to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election.
Legal decisions are often appealed, but it is highly unusual for a prosecutor to face a criminal investigation over legal cases, especially those that have gone to trial and been sustained by courts.
Trump has repeatedly clashed with James since her campaign for New York attorney general in 2018. Trump-nominated FBI Director Kash Patel publicly confirmed earlier this year that James was also under investigation for mortgage fraud.
U.S. media reports this week have indicated that several long-running targets of Trump’s ire are under federal investigation.
Reuters reported that prosecutors have been authorized to open a grand jury investigation into the actions of former officials in Democratic President Barack Obama’s administration.
(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington and Jack Queen in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Aurora Ellis)
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