NEW YORK (Reuters). Former President Donald Trump and his relatives on Tuesday decried a civil investigation into their business practices as “selective prosecution.” They claimed that an email from New York State’s top prosecutor was sent to supporters by her, proving she was driven by politics.

Trumps try to block Attorney General Letitia Jones from requiring Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump as witnesses in the inquiry into whether Trump’s family business misrepresented its value for financial gain.

Trump, his spouse and children are not accused of any criminal wrongdoing. The three-year-long civil investigation into James is distinct from the criminal probe now being led by Alvin Bragg, new Manhattan District Attorney. It concerns Trump Organization business practices.

A court filing by Republican Trump lawyers stated that James, a Democrat was targeting Trump for her dislike of Trump’s speech and politics in order to interfere with Trump’s political ambitions. Trump left office in 2017 but hasn’t ruled out running again for the presidency in 2024.

James is seeking re-election. Trump’s lawyers pointed to an email James’ campaign sent his supporters on January 9, following subpoenasing Trump and his family. The email stated that Trump “might Win” in 2024. The email stated in part that Trump’s attack on U.S. Capitol, Jan. 6, 20,21 was “may have been traced back one person: Trump himself.”

Trump supporter groups flooded Washington’s Capitol, driven by Trump’s fraudulent claims that the Nov 2020 election won in Democrat Joe Biden had been stolen by him.

The Trumps lawyers stated that there was no better evidence to support a claim for selective prosecution than this email, calling it “extraordinary”, “unprecedented” and “frankly appalling”.

James described the filing as a “baseless attempt to evade accountability” in a statement.

James stated that “they have not questioned our legal authority throughout the three-year investigation,” until Donald J. Trump was summoned to appear in court. As with all investigations, we’ll continue to pursue the facts wherever they take us.

James investigated whether Trumps inflated real estate value to secure bank loans. One example: She said Trump’s financial statements for the year stated that he owned a Trump Tower apartment measuring 30,000 sq. feet. It was actually a third of this size.

Trump demanded that protests be held against New York and Georgia prosecutors investigating him and his business at a Texas political rally on Saturday.