Federal prosecutors reportedly indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday after a months-long investigation into potential mortgage fraud.
Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s former personal lawyer who the president installed as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last month, presented the case for the indictment to the grand jury, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Justice Department has investigated James since May over a mortgage she took out in 2023.
The indictment against James accused her of bank fraud, according to WSJ.
In a statement on Thursday, James said that the charges against her are a result of the “weaponization” of a justice system directed at her “all because I did my job as New York state attorney general.”
“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,” said James.
To ascend to the office of state attorney general, James campaigned on investigating and prosecuting Trump. She won a civil penalty against the president of $450 million. In the case, James accused Trump of inflating his worth to defraud lenders, though no lenders had claimed that they were defrauded. An appeals court in August tossed the nearly-half billion dollar penalty dropped on Trump in James’ civil suit.
The investigation into James stemmed from an April referral to the Department of Justice made by federal housing regulator Bill Pulte, who said James “falsified records” to get more favorable loan terms on a Virginia property.
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“Based on media reports, Ms. Letitia James has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms. This has potentially included 1) falsifying residence status for a Norfolk, Virginia-based home in order to secure a lower mortgage rate and 2) misrepresenting property descriptions to meet stringent requirements for government backed loans and government assistance,” said Pulte’s letter.
Trump appointed Halligan as interim U.S. attorney last month after expressing frustration over the pace of investigations into some of his top political and legal foes, including James and former FBI chief James Comey. Halligan brought charges against Comey last month of allegedly making a false statement and obstructing a congressional hearing.
