The US department of justice under President Donald Trump on Thursday secured a federal grand jury indictment against New York attorney general Letitia James, charging her with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a 2023 mortgage, reported CNN.
The indictment, handed down in the Eastern District of Virginia, came after an investigation dating back to May, focused on a mortgage James obtained for a property in Norfolk, Virginia, to assist her niece in buying a home. Prosecutors allege James misrepresented the property as her primary residence.
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In an official statement announcing the charges, US Attorney Lindsey Halligan - recently appointed to lead the Eastern Virginia office - said, “No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” as quoted by the outlet.
James, who has been among Trump’s most outspoken critics, immediately rejected the charges as politically motivated. In a response, she called the move “nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,”
This indictment arrives closely on the heels of a federal grand jury’s decision in the same district to indict former FBI Director James Comey on charges of making false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding - a case also widely viewed through the lens of Trump’s push to prosecute his political adversaries.
Earlier, a career prosecutor in Virginia reportedly declined to proceed with charges against James, citing insufficient evidence. That standoff ended when acting US attorney Erik Siebert was removed and replaced by Halligan, who has since moved aggressively against Trump’s critics.
Sources indicate the investigation scrutinizes documents James’s legal team submitted - including a power of attorney form and mortgage applications. While the power of attorney form allegedly listed the property as her primary residence, James’s lawyers argue this listing was a clerical mistake and emphasize that in other documents she stated the property “WILL NOT be my primary residence.”
James had previously secured a significant civil fraud judgment against Trump and his real estate empire in New York, in which a court found the company had inflated property valuations. That ruling, which ordered over $350 million in penalties, is now on appeal.
The evolving legal standoff - juxtaposed with Trump’s repeated public demands that his perceived political opponents be prosecuted - has triggered widespread concern among legal experts and lawmakers about the potential politicisation of the justice department.
The indictment, handed down in the Eastern District of Virginia, came after an investigation dating back to May, focused on a mortgage James obtained for a property in Norfolk, Virginia, to assist her niece in buying a home. Prosecutors allege James misrepresented the property as her primary residence.
Video
In an official statement announcing the charges, US Attorney Lindsey Halligan - recently appointed to lead the Eastern Virginia office - said, “No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” as quoted by the outlet.
James, who has been among Trump’s most outspoken critics, immediately rejected the charges as politically motivated. In a response, she called the move “nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,”
This indictment arrives closely on the heels of a federal grand jury’s decision in the same district to indict former FBI Director James Comey on charges of making false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding - a case also widely viewed through the lens of Trump’s push to prosecute his political adversaries.
Earlier, a career prosecutor in Virginia reportedly declined to proceed with charges against James, citing insufficient evidence. That standoff ended when acting US attorney Erik Siebert was removed and replaced by Halligan, who has since moved aggressively against Trump’s critics.
Sources indicate the investigation scrutinizes documents James’s legal team submitted - including a power of attorney form and mortgage applications. While the power of attorney form allegedly listed the property as her primary residence, James’s lawyers argue this listing was a clerical mistake and emphasize that in other documents she stated the property “WILL NOT be my primary residence.”
James had previously secured a significant civil fraud judgment against Trump and his real estate empire in New York, in which a court found the company had inflated property valuations. That ruling, which ordered over $350 million in penalties, is now on appeal.
The evolving legal standoff - juxtaposed with Trump’s repeated public demands that his perceived political opponents be prosecuted - has triggered widespread concern among legal experts and lawmakers about the potential politicisation of the justice department.
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