New York Attorney General Letitia James vowed to “use every area of the law” to probe President Donald Trump, his family and associates, and his business shortly after her election in November.
Because she is the chief legal officer in the state, she has massive investigatory and prosecutorial powers, so she can keep that promise.
Now that special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe is complete, others’ investigations, including the New York attorney general’s, are continuing.
James has recently subpoenaed Trump’s banks, seeking information about the Trump Organization and the president’s finances.
Trump has dismissed these efforts as “presidential harassment” and he tweeted that James, a Democrat, “openly campaigned on a GET TRUMP agenda.” But several former New York attorneys general and legal experts say the president could have plenty to fear.
“There’s broad power — there’s no question,” Oliver Koppell, a Democrat who served as New York attorney general in 1994, told NBC News.
The Trump Organization did not respond to a request for comment.
It’s rare for the attorney general to seek the dissolution of a business, but it has happened. In 1994, the state closed down an education company that repeatedly failed to comply with student loan regulations.
The power has been described by the state Supreme Court as a “judgment of corporate death,” with the offending company’s transgressions needing to be so serious “as to harm or menace the public welfare” in order for it to be an appropriate remedy.
The public first became aware of James’ new inquiry into Trump and his business after she recently subpoenaed Deutsche Bank and Investors Bank for records regarding some of Trump’s business dealings and his failed 2014 effort to buy the NFL’s Buffalo Bills.
Do you think Trump should be concerned about this New York State attorney general? We look forward to seeing your thoughts at the end of this article.
Share this:
