Tish James Is Fighting Another DOJ Probe For ‘Selective Enforcement’ Against Trump’s Business, NRA, Unsealed Docs Show
New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading a federal criminal investigation into allegations of “selective enforcement” in cases she brought against President Donald Trump’s companies and the National Rifle Association (NRA), court documents unsealed Friday reveal.
James’ efforts to block subpoenas issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) touch “on matters of national concern, with implications that extend far beyond this action,” Obama-appointed Judge Lorna Schofield wrote in her order making the documents public Friday.
“Unsealing this action is not only permissible but obligatory,” the judge wrote. “A simple fact leads to this conclusion: the information in question is not secret. » (RELATED: Prosecutors Suggest James Comey’s Lawyer Could Be Disqualified)
In August 2025, it was widely reported that Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York John A. Sarcone III had issued subpoenas related to James’ civil fraud case against Trump and his company, as well as his case against the National Rifle Association (NRA).
James was indicted in October as part of a separate mortgage fraud investigation in Virginia, where she faces two charges for alleged bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
James’ opposition to the DOJ subpoenas focuses on alleged “retaliation by the executive branch, issues of state sovereignty, and the alleged improper appointment of the Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District,” the judge wrote.
NORFOLK, VIRGINIA – OCTOBER 24: New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks outside the Walter E. Hoffman United States Courthouse following an arraignment hearing on October 24, 2025 in Norfolk, Virginia. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
In a motion filed Oct. 15, James’ lawyers said Trump failed to assert his allegations of “selective prosecution, retaliation and bad faith” during his trial.
“Now that he is back in the Oval Office and has placed his personal lawyers at the highest levels of the DOJ, President Trump is using the grand jury’s subpoena power to target the New York State Office of the Attorney General (“OAG”),” his office’s lawyers wrote in the unsealed filing. “In this way, the Executive Branch seeks to turn a personal grievance, which failed in civil proceedings, into a federal criminal prosecution – a simple and calculated campaign to harass a law enforcement agency that has held Mr. Trump and his organization accountable. »
After suing Trump in 2022 for allegedly overstating his assets to obtain cheaper loans, James won a $454 million civil fraud judgment against him in February 2024. A New York appeals court threw out the half-billion-dollar penalty against him in August, calling it “excessive” while upholding the finding that he had committed fraud.
The DOJ’s citation of a dissenting judge’s opinion in the case that highlighted James’ political motivations is not enough to warrant a subpoena, James’ lawyers argued.
The DOJ’s argument relies largely on a judge’s dissenting opinion highlighting James’ biased public statements against Trump and the political motivations that led him to bring the case, according to James’ motion. A dissenting judge’s view is not enough to justify a subpoena, lawyers say.
Additionally, they claim that the U.S. Attorney’s “improper appointment invalidates the subpoenas.”
“The Executive Branch has repeatedly sought to give hand-picked attorneys the broad powers of U.S. Attorneys without the drawbacks of Senate confirmation,” his lawyers wrote. “But Congress did not develop such a carefully crafted vacancy system for the sole purpose of allowing the attorney general to choose who he wants, whenever he wants, to serve as acting or de facto U.S. Attorney.”
James is seeking to dismiss his Virginia mortgage fraud charges by challenging the appointment of Acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan.
Former FBI Director James Comey, who also faces charges from Halligan for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional investigation, is also challenging his nomination. Trump chose Halligan to fill this role just days before she indicted Comey.
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