Next New York attorney general promises to 'use every area of the law' to probe Trump and family
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Incoming New York Attorney General Letitia James plans to fully investigation President Trump and his family's business dealings when she takes office next year. (Getty Images/Desiree Navarro)
New York’s incoming attorney general promised to investigate the business dealings of President Trump and his family as soon as she takes office next year.
“We will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family as well,” Letitia James told NBC News in an interview published Tuesday.
“We want to investigate anyone in his orbit who has, in fact, violated the law,” the Democrat added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to NBC News, James, 60, plans to probe Trump’s real estate holdings, the Trump Foundation, any government subsidies Trump may have received and whether he’s violated the emoluments clause of the U.S. Constitution.
“We will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family as well.”
Acting Attorney General Barbara Underwood sued the Trump Foundation for alleged illegal conduct and “unlawful political coordination” with Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign in June.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The foundation had long been a target of former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who resigned in May after he was accused of sexual misconduct.
Trump blasted “the sleazy New York Democrats,” including Schneiderman, for “doing everything they can to sue me on a foundation that … gave out to charity more money than it took in” at the time.
A spokesperson for the Trump Foundation, in a statement to Fox News, called the lawsuit “politics at its very worst,” noting Trump contributed himself, or through his companies, more than $8 million.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NEW YORK AG FIRES ANOTHER SALVO AT TRUMP FOUNDATION
Additionally, James said she wants to look into the controversial meeting son Donald Trump Jr., and son-in-law Jared Kushner took with other Trump associates and a Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign. The Trump Tower meeting came about after the lawyer said she had damaging information about Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic opponent.
“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,” James told NBC News.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She also praised Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, saying she believes he is “closing in on this president” and claiming “his days are going to be coming to an end shortly.”
James made history last month as the first black woman elected to a statewide office in New York. She previously served as a public advocated, spent several years on the city council and worked as a public defender.
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.