New York State Attorney General Letitia James. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

New York state Attorney General Letitia James has asked a federal judge to consider a possible inquiry into false statements from the Trump administration that led the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office to retract arguments in defense of a policy to exclude New York from federal programs intended to expedite international travel.

In a court filing Tuesday night, the attorney general's office said it was seeking attorney fees and costs in its lawsuit, which challenged the ban as unconstitutional. The attorneys also said that "additional relief" may be appropriate for the "imposition and maintenance of a ban that they have now conceded was without factual foundation."

"Plaintiffs believe further inquiry may be warranted to determine when the agency first became aware of the false and misleading representations that were disclosed last week, and what steps were taken and when to cure those misrepresentations," the filing said.

The Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office, which is representing the Department of Homeland Security in the suit, acknowledged July 23 that the agency had incorrectly asserted that New York was unique in its refusal to give federal authorities access to state Department of Motor Vehicles records without a court order.

Those misleading statements, the office said, had undermined a "central argument" in its motions for summary judgment and to dismiss New York's lawsuit. According to the filing, multiple states, Washington, D.C. and a U.S. territory all had similar prohibitions against sharing information with the federal government.

"Defendants deeply regret the foregoing inaccurate or misleading statements and apologize to the court and plaintiffs for the need to make these corrections at this late stage in the litigation,"  acting U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss said in a court filing last week.

DHS announced last week that it was reinstating New York to the Global Entry and Trusted Traveler programs, which allow low-risk travelers to receive expedited clearance and avoid long lines at airport security.

Attorneys for the Trump administration argued in their own filing Tuesday that the reversal amounted to a "change in law," which rendered New York's lawsuit moot.

James' office, however, argued Tuesday that the state was entitled to full relief, saying DHS officials had not given the office any assurances that they wouldn't try to "reimpose the ban just as quickly as they lifted it." Both sides had agreed to talks on whether the dispute could be resolved through a settlement that would include attorney fees and costs, the state attorneys said.

The parties were expected to update the court by Aug. 10 on the status of the negotiations.

In the filing, James' office said that "further explanation or additional discovery" may be needed as to what exactly DHS "knew and when" with regard to the false and misleading statements. The court, the attorneys noted, also had the "inherent authority" to take up its own investigation "to determine whether it has been the victim of fraud."

James and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo have long argued that New York was being singled out for political retribution in response to its so-called Green Light Law, which restricted information-sharing with federal immigration officials, as well as other policies that put it at odds with President Donald Trump. The state has since amended its law to give federal authorities access to motor vehicle records of those who apply for trusted-traveler status and for cars being shipped in and out of the country.

Last week, Cuomo called for investigations and possible criminal sanctions at DHS, and castigated acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf and his deputy Ken Cuccinelli for using their offices to carry out acts of political revenge.

Wolf, for his part, has said that officials at DHS "remain very concerned" that aspects of the new law still jeopardized national security, adding that "we'll continue to work with our Department of Justice colleagues to see what we can do, perhaps through the legal system, to address those concerns."

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