(CNN) — The Justice Department has subpoenaed New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office as part of a criminal investigation into President Donald Trump’s long-time adversary, according to multiple sources, in the latest example of the Trump administration taking on the president’s perceived enemies.
Two grand jury subpoenas were issued by the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of New York seeking information about James’ investigations into the Trump Organization and National Rifle Association, the sources said.
A grand jury investigation into James has also convened in Albany, according to a source familiar. The grand jury probe into James is said to be looking into deprivation of rights, which means violating someone’s constitutional rights, against Trump.
The Justice Department declined to comment on the subpoenas and grand jury investigation.
Abbe Lowell, an attorney for James, said, “Investigating the fraud case Attorney General James won against President Trump and his businesses has to be the most blatant and desperate example of this administration’s carrying out the president’s political retribution campaign.”
Lowell added: “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. If prosecutors carry out this improper tactic and are genuinely interested in the truth, we are ready and waiting with the facts and law.”
The New York attorney general’s office sued Trump, his adult sons and the Trump Organization alleging they inflated the value of its properties to mislead lenders and insurers. A judge found Trump liable and ordered him to pay more than $450 million. Trump has appealed.
Trump’s hostility with James was evident during the trial. He railed against James from the witness stand and in the hallways of the courtroom. James countered making her own statement outside of the courthouse in lower Manhattan and through social media videos.
The attorney general’s office also took on the National Rifle Association and won judgments forcing the organization to reform its structure.
“Any weaponization of the justice system should disturb every American,” a spokesman for James’ office said. “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.”
The-CNN-Wire
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