• The DOJ has subpoenaed New York AG Letitia James in a probe over alleged civil rights violations against Trump.
• James argues the subpoenas represent political retribution amid her successful fraud case against Trump.
• The investigation coincides with broader scrutiny of Trump’s legal challenges and accusations of judicial weaponization.
• James secured a $454 million judgment against Trump, which he is currently appealing.
• The DOJ is examining whether James' actions during the fraud case unjustly targeted Trump and others.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened an investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James over her civil fraud lawsuit against President Donald Trump, as per reports from multiple sources. The inquiry involves subpoenas for documents related to the case, which resulted in a $454 million judgment against Trump, who has since contested the ruling in court, according to HuffPost, CBS News, and India Times.

James has been under fire for her aggressive legal stance against Trump, whom she accuses of fraudulently inflating his asset values to secure favorable loan conditions. The DOJ's investigation raises concerns of political motivation, with James' attorney asserting that these subpoenas exemplify an administration effort to retaliate against her for performing her official duties, according to Reuters, Los Angeles Times, and BBC.

The subpoenas are perceived as part of a broader strategy by the Trump administration to scrutinize political adversaries, especially following James' successful litigation against both Trump and the National Rifle Association (NRA). Implementing a grand jury for this investigation indicates an escalation that James and her legal team characterize as a misuse of federal power, thus politicizing the justice system, as repeated by sources from Bloomberg and Al Jazeera.

The backdrop of this investigation includes Trump's long-standing claims of being a victim of a partisan "witch hunt." His accusations intensify as the DOJ examines whether James' civil suit compromised his civil rights. Trump’s ongoing legal troubles, including the recent civil judgment against him, have been characterized by a belligerent response to any perceived aggression from law enforcement avenues, according to Newsweek and Reuters.