Trump suffers a new legal setback after his lawsuit against the New York prosecutor is dismissed | International

In just over 24 hours, former President Donald Trump has suffered two new setbacks in his attempt to stop the investigation of a case in New York for irregularities in his business. The Republican has seen a lawsuit, filed in December, rejected this Friday to stop the investigation by the State Attorney General, Letitia James, into alleged tax fraud that began three years ago, when he was still president of the United States. The day before, The former president, very active in the disputed Republican primaries, was again ordered to appear before James and testify under oath, along with his two eldest children, Donald Junior and Ivanka.

Trump sued James, a well-known Democrat, to stop a civil case on the alleged tax and document fraud through which the Trump Organization allegedly disguised the value of its assets to obtain tax benefits and advantageous credits. Trump, who has repeatedly accused James of orchestrating a witch hunt, then alleged that the prosecutor was using the case to promote his political career. In fact, James presented her candidacy for governor of the State of New York in October 2021, but she withdrew it shortly after.

Federal District Judge Brenda Sannes has dismissed this lawsuit this Friday, considering that there is no evidence that James acted in bad faith, that is, obeying political motivations. The prosecutor already warned in January that the former president’s complaints about the alleged political nature of the case are not going to benefit him and even less exempt him from being investigated. The tycoon’s lawyers denounced “James’s egregious conduct and harassment” as constituting bad faith.

“No one in this country gets to choose how the law applies to them, and Donald Trump is no exception,” James said in a statement at the time. “We will continue with the investigation without flinching.”

Today’s ruling is the latest judicial setback for Trump, and the second in two days. A state appeals court ruled Thursday that he must testify under oath along with his two oldest children as part of the investigation. Last week, in addition, the Republican paid a fine of 110,000 for not attending James’ summons. The sanction was one of the necessary conditions to permanently withdraw a contempt of court order that had been issued against him by the judge responsible for the case, Arthur Engoron.

Trump tried to get out of James’ subpoena by pointing out that he did not have any of the documents required by the prosecutor, a claim that Engoron called surprising, given that the prosecution assured in January that the investigation had uncovered irrefutable evidence of a possible fraud. fiscal. Trump denies any malpractice or deception. James’s investigation takes place in parallel to another criminal opened in the Manhattan prosecutor’s office by the former prosecutor, Cyrus Vance, and inherited by his successor, also a Democrat, Alvin Bragg. The case is languishing due to Bragg’s doubts about the process, which has caused the resignation of two investigators.

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Since the beginning of the James investigation, Trump has used all the artillery at his disposal to stop it. The lawsuit against the prosecutor, filed in December, is part of a new aggressive legal strategy, adopted last year, which included another lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, her Democratic rival in the 2016 elections, for conspiring against her, as well as a $100 million lawsuit against his niece rebel Mary Trump and the diary New York Times for an award-winning story about his finances.

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