A History of President Trump’s Legal Battles with New York Attorney General Letitia James

October 29, 2025

New York Attorney General Letitia James and Donald Trump have engaged in an intense, years-long legal battle spanning multiple lawsuits and policy challenges. Their conflict intensified when James sued Trump for allegedly inflating his net worth by billions to deceive banks and insurers, resulting in fraud findings by lower courts, though penalties were later reduced on appeal. James has filed dozens of lawsuits against Trump's administrations—at least 66 during his first term alone—challenging policies on immigration, environmental issues, healthcare, and other matters, while also pursuing criminal tax fraud charges against the Trump Organization.

Who is affected

Letitia James, New York Attorney General
Donald Trump, President and former president
Trump Organization and Allen Weisselberg (its chief financial officer)
Democratic state attorneys general coalition
Federal workers who were mass fired
Venezuelans whose temporary protected status was revoked
People protected under DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals)
Various nonprofits that received Trump Foundation funds

What action is being taken

James is asking the state's highest court to reinstate Trump's monetary penalty
Trump is seeking to have non-monetary punishments lifted
James and a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general are suing Trump's administration over various policies including birthright citizenship, counterterrorism funding cuts, National Guard deployment in Oregon, Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, mass firings of federal workers, and revocation of temporary protected status for Venezuelans
Trump's Justice Department has indicted James on mortgage fraud charges

Why it matters

This represents an unprecedented escalation in the use of federal prosecutorial power against a state official who has been a legal adversary of the president. The conflict illustrates the tension between state and federal authority, raises concerns about potential political weaponization of the Justice Department, and affects major policy areas including immigration, civil rights, and financial fraud enforcement. The legal battles have already resulted in significant consequences including fraud findings against Trump, the dissolution of his charitable foundation, criminal convictions of the Trump Organization, and successful challenges to federal policies affecting millions of people.

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint