The Year Ahead

Letitia James Talks Investigating Trump, Suing Big Tech and NRA

New York’s attorney general says she follows the law, wherever it leads.

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By Erik Larson

January 22, 2021 at 9:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

This article is part of the January 25, 2021 issue of businessweek.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, 62, is the first woman and Black person elected to her office. She’s filed or joined lawsuits against the Trump administration on issues such as immigrants’ rights and housing discrimination. She’s also leading a group of states in an antitrust suit to force Facebook Inc. to unwind its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp, which she claims were part of an illegal effort by Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to kill his competition—and suing Alphabet Inc.’s Google as well.

Now, as President Biden takes office, James is in the midst of an investigation into whether Trump’s real estate business falsely reported property values to get loans or tax benefits, as well as a fraud suit against the National Rifle Association.