The Daily Fuckup

Donald Trump lost his federal lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James on May 27, 2022, when U.S. District Judge Brenda K. Sannes dismissed the case in the Northern District of New York. Trump had asked the court to stop James’s office from continuing its civil investigation into the Trump Organization, but the judge declined to block the state probe.

The ruling did not end the underlying investigation. It rejected Trump’s attempt to use federal court to shut it down, leaving James’s office free to continue its work under state law. The dispute centers on allegations involving how the Trump Organization described the value of its assets and its financial condition in statements to lenders, insurers and others.

James’s office had argued the lawsuit was an effort to stop a lawful investigation before it could finish. After Sannes’s dismissal, the state’s case remained active. The decision came one day after a New York appellate court also ruled against Trump in related litigation involving the same investigation, adding to the legal pressure around the civil inquiry.

Trump has repeatedly tried to slow or stop the probe through the courts, but the federal ruling left him with no immediate relief. For now, the New York investigation stays in place, and the state can keep pressing forward with its case.