Even with the increasing legal peril he faces from the Russia collusion investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, Donald Trump starting in January may face an even greater threat — the newly elected attorney general in Trump’s home state of New York, Letitia James. On Wednesday, James told NBC News that she plans to lead a wide-ranging investigation into any possible illegal acts committed by Trump and his businesses — including potential crimes committed by members of Trump’s family.
James, 60, was elected to the New York State Attorney General position in November’s vote, easily defeating Republican Keith Wofford, according to Ballotpedia . An activist and lawyer who has served as New York City Public Advocate since 2013, James, when inaugurated, will become the first African-American New York attorney general, and the first woman elected to the post — though she succeeds Barbara Underwood, who was appointed to the position in May after Eric Schneiderman resigned amid a sexual assault scandal, as CBS News reported.
“We will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family as well,” James told NBC News. “We want to investigate anyone in his orbit who has, in fact, violated the law.”
James also told NBC that she intends to pursue New York state charges against anyone who is ultimately pardoned by Trump if that person committed crimes in New York. State-level convictions are not subject to presidential pardons, which may apply only to federal offenses. But under New York’s laws against “double jeopardy,” that is, being charged twice for the same crime, individuals pardoned by a president may not be tried a second time in New York, as The Atlantic Monthly explained.
As part of James’ campaign, she endorsed a law to eliminate the New York “loophole,” a measure also backed by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“I think within the first 100 days this bill will be passed,” James told NBC News. “It is a priority because I have concerns with respect to the possibility that this administration might pardon some individuals who might face some criminal charges, but I do not want them to be immune from state charges.”
James said that her Trump investigation would focus on a wide variety of potential offenses, including the meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a group of Kremlin-linked Russians — as Inquisitr has covered — as well as Trump’s real estate deals, and the allegations of massive tax evasion against Trump detailed in a major New York Times exposé published in October.
The Times investigation found that Trump family members have received more than $1 billion from Trump’s father, the former New York City real estate tycoon Fred C. Trump — including about $413 million going to Trump himself. But a potential tax bill of at least $550 million on that wealth owed by the Trump family was supposedly never paid, except for a total of just over $50 million.
