Incoming New York AG: ‘We will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump’

BY CHRIS MILLS RODRIGO - 12/12/18 09:20 AM EST 457
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Incoming New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) told NBC News on Wednesday that she plans to launch an exhaustive investigation into President Trump and his business dealings once she takes office in January.

"We will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family as well," James said. "We want to investigate anyone in his orbit who has, in fact, violated the law."


James said she plans to probe any illegitimacies concerning Trump's real estate holdings in New York, particularly in light of an October New York Times investigation, which found that Trump participated in "dubious tax schemes" in the 1990s that helped him earn additional wealth from his father's real estate business.


James said she will also investigate a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer, as well as any potential violations of the Constitution's Emoluments Clause.


The meeting, along with a number of other events being probed by special counsel Robert Mueller, would fall under James's jurisdiction, NBC News noted.


"Taking on President Trump and looking at all of the violations of law I think is no match to what I have seen in my lifetime," she said.


James floated the idea of pursuing investigations into the president on the campaign trail.


Former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) sued Trump University, the business mogul’s for-profit real estate training program, in 2013, alleging illegal business practices. Schneiderman, who resigned in May amid allegations that he abused multiple women, also launched an investigation into the Trump Foundation and participated in a number of lawsuits challenging Trump’s policies as president.


Schneiderman’s successor, Barbara Underwood, also filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Trump for alleged “improper and extensive political activity” and “self-dealing” by the Trump Foundation. James will take over for Underwood in January.


The White House, Trump Organization and Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani did not respond to NBC News's requests for comment.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-w...to-investigate