Former US President Donald Trump speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas on August 6, 2022.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images
Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday voluntarily filed a second federal civil lawsuit against New York’s Attorney General in an attempt to block her own $250 million fraud lawsuit against his Manhattan-based real estate firm. withdrawn.
Trump’s latest legal surrender comes a week after a federal judge in Florida fined him nearly $1 million for filing what he called a frivolous lawsuit against Hillary Clinton. It was taken down in no time.
Lawyers for both Trump and New York Attorney General Letitia James said in Tuesday’s filing that they jointly agreed to dismiss the appeal in the Manhattan Federal Court of Appeals.
Trump, who is seeking the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, appealed after a federal judge for the Upstate District of New York dismissed the case against James.
In a statement, the attorney general said, “I am pleased that Donald Trump has withdrawn both of his pending lawsuits against my office.
“As we’ve shown all along, we have legitimate lawsuits against him and his organization. We cannot be bullied or dissuaded from pursuing it.” .
“This appeal was voluntarily dismissed for strategic purposes,” Trump’s attorney Alina Habba said in a statement.
In September, James filed a $250 million lawsuit against Trump, the Trump Organization, and his three adult children for allegedly using fraudulent financial statements related to the company. .
James’ case was filed in New York state court after her investigators spent several years reviewing allegations that the Trump Organization improperly manipulated the listed valuations of various real estate properties for financial gain. I got
Trump sued James in federal court for the Northern District of New York in December 2021 to try to prevent her from continuing the investigation. The lawsuit alleges that the attorney general violated Trump’s constitutional rights and called for a judge to issue an injunction ending or blocking her investigation.
“Ms. James’ mission is guided solely by her political animosity and her desire to harass, intimidate and retaliate against civilians whom she considers political opponents,” Trump’s attorney said in the complaint.
That case was dismissed by a judge at James’ request in May.
Two months after James sued him in Manhattan, Trump sued James in Florida state court in November, claiming her investigation was part of a “war on intimidation and harassment.”
His second lawsuit, which James soon transferred to federal court in Florida, sought to prevent her from obtaining records from a revocable trust he created in Florida with ownership of the Trump Organization. .
As Trump was waging a legal battle against James, he was also targeting another political opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was defeated in the 2016 presidential election, in federal court in Florida.
Trump sued Clinton, the Democratic National Committee, a former FBI official and more than 20 other defendants last year to rig the 2016 election by spreading a “false narrative” that Trump colluded with Russia. claimed to have attempted to manipulate
Judge John Middlebrooks dismissed the lawsuit in September, calling it “a political manifesto outlining his grievances against those who opposed him.”
Last Thursday, Middlebrooks ordered Trump and his attorney, Hubba, to pay $937,989 in sanctions for filing a lawsuit that was “completely frivolous, both factually and legally” by a judge.
The Middlebrooks order noted how Trump engaged in a “pattern of court abuse” and repeatedly used the courts “to seek revenge on his political opponents.”
The next morning, Trump voluntarily dropped the Florida federal court case against James, which also dealt with Middlebrooks.
A few days later, Trump dropped his appeal of the dismissal of the lawsuit against James in federal court for the Northern District of New York.
