Former President Donald Trump has sued New York state Attorney General Letitia James, seeking to block her from continuing to investigate his company.

He argues the state attorney has violated his constitutional rights by pursuing a politically-motivated probe.

Letitia James says the investigation “will continue undeterred”.

She opened a civil inquiry in 2019 into claims that – before he took office – Donald Trump had inflated the value of his assets to banks when seeking loans.

The lawsuit comes less than two weeks after Letitia James, a Democrat, indicated that Donald Trump, a Republican, could be questioned under oath next month as part of the inquiry.

The former president is also suspected of understating his assets to lower his taxes.

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Letitia James’ office has been seeking documents on four Trump Organization properties in Manhattan, upstate New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Donald Trump has described the inquiry as a witch hunt.

Throughout his presidency from 2017 to 2021, Donald Trump resolutely refused to reveal his tax returns, despite coming under great pressure to do so.

Civil cases usually have to do with injury to individuals or other private parties, including businesses; criminal law applies in cases where the damage is thought to affect society at large, including the state.