The Daily Fuckup

Donald Trump and the Trump Organization filed a federal lawsuit on Dec. 20, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. The complaint sought to stop New York Attorney General Letitia James from continuing her civil investigation into Trump and his business. James responded that the filing was an attempted collateral attack on that investigation and said her office would keep going. ([ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/attorney-general-james-responds-trump-lawsuit))

At issue is the state attorney general’s inquiry into whether the Trump Organization overstated or misstated the value of assets and other financial information in its dealings. James’s office said the investigation had already included a motion to compel documents and testimony from multiple witnesses in August 2020 about specific Trump Organization properties and transactions. The office also said courts had ruled in its favor multiple times before the Dec. 20 lawsuit was filed. ([ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/attorney-general-james-responds-trump-lawsuit))

The lawsuit did not end the investigation. It moved the fight into federal court, where Trump and the company asked for judicial intervention against an inquiry already underway in state court. James’s office said neither Trump nor the Trump Organization gets to decide whether they must answer questions about their conduct, and that the investigation would continue undeterred. ([ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/attorney-general-james-responds-trump-lawsuit))

The key correction for readers is chronology: the lawsuit was filed on Dec. 20, 2021, not on Christmas Day. Dec. 25 is the edition date for this story, not the date of the filing. ([ag.ny.gov](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/attorney-general-james-responds-trump-lawsuit))