NY Rep. Elise Stefanik files bar complaint against Attorney General Letitia James over Trump case

NEW YORK — New York Rep. Elise Stefanik on Tuesday filed a bar complaint against Attorney General Letitia James, alleging she violated the rules of professional conduct with a biased investigation and prosecution of former President Donald Trump.

James sued Trump in 2022, alleging he falsely inflated his net worth on a number of financial statements to get better bank loans or insurance policies.

Stefanik, who accused James of making dozens of “highly inappropriate and prejudicial comments on social media,” is calling for James to be suspended while the Attorney Grievance Committee conducts an investigation. She’s ultimately seeking to have James disbarred.

Lawyers accused of misconduct can face a number of punishments, including probation, suspension or disbarment, according to the American Bar Association.

“It has been her explicit mission since she announced her run for office to go after President Trump,” Stefanik said in a statement. “Such behavior not only undermines the integrity of the legal process but also violated the Rules of Professional Conduct to which James, as a licensed attorney, is bound.”

“Her conduct not only constitutes a breach of her professional responsibilities but also risks irreparable harm to the public’s already eroding trust in our legal institutions,” her statement continued.

Stefanik has also filed multiple ethics complaints against judges associated with cases against Trump or the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol — including Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing Trump’s civil fraud case and once issued a gag order on Trump after the former president publicly disparaged a law clerk.

Earlier this month, Stefanik said she “would not have done what Mike Pence did” on Jan. 6, seemingly indicating she would not have certified the 2020 presidential election, as the former vice president did, and would have tossed out electoral votes from certain states that had voted for Biden. She is considered a potential pick as Trump’s running mate in the upcoming election.

Trump is facing criminal charges related to his efforts to allegedly overturn the results of the 2020 election, how he handled classified documents and making hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels in an attempt to buy her silence about an alleged extramarital tryst with Trump.

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