The motion, which had been expected, lays out a litany of comments from President Donald Trump designed to show the case was driven by personal animus that arose out of James’ fraud lawsuit against Trump in her capacity as state attorney general.
“This lawsuit, and AG James’ outspoken criticism of the President, triggered six years of targeted attacks. President Trump and his allies have used every insulting term in their vocabulary to deride AG James and call for criminal penalties in retaliation for the exercise of her rights and fulfillment of her statutory duties to fulfill her obligations as New York state’s attorney general,” lawyers for James wrote in urging that the case be dismissed.
The name-calling by Trump includes describing James as “crooked,” “scum,” “a monster,” and “criminal,” according to the filing.
To bolster their claim of a vindictive prosecution, James’ attorneys also assert that the Justice Department has singled her out for scrutiny “while ignoring apparent inconsistencies in the mortgage records of numerous other public officials.”
They say the activities that form the basis of the indictment match the conduct of other high-profile figures who have not been investigated or charged.
“The only meaningful difference between AG James and these individuals is that AG James is a Democratic Attorney General who spoke out against the President, while the others are his allies and cabinet members,” defense lawyers wrote.
After Siebert’s resignation, Trump, in an extraordinary social media post, urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute James and other political foes, noting that he had been impeached and indicted himself multiple times. Trump wrote the administration “can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” adding: “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
James was first elected in 2018 as New York state’s top lawyer, after holding elected jobs in New York City. She is the first woman elected as the state’s attorney general.
