New York Attorney General Letitia James has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of bank fraud and making false statements, in a case brought by a US attorney appointed amid President Donald Trump's frustrations with the pace of investigations against his rivals. The indictment, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, alleges that James obtained a more favourable mortgage rate by falsely claiming a Virginia property as her secondary residence when she allegedly rented it out.
Lindsey Halligan, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, personally presented the case to the grand jury on Thursday, a rare move that underscores the political nature of the prosecution. Halligan was installed last month after Trump grew impatient with the Justice Department's handling of cases against his adversaries. In a statement, Halligan said: 'No one is above the law. The charges as alleged represent intentional criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public's trust.'
James, who brought a civil fraud case against the Trump Organization in 2022 that resulted in a $464m judgment later overturned as excessive, denounced the indictment as political retribution. In a recorded video statement, she said: 'This is nothing more than a continuation of the president's desperate weaponization of our justice system. These charges are baseless, and the president's own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost.'
The indictment stems from a mortgage James obtained in 2020 for a home in Virginia, where she allegedly signed a 'Second Home Rider' to secure a 3% interest rate. Prosecutors claim she rented the property to others, which would have required a higher rate. James's attorney, Abbe Lowell, said his client 'flatly and forcefully denies these charges' and will argue that the prosecution is vindictive and selective.
The charges have drawn sharp criticism from Democratic leaders, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who called it 'the weaponization of the Justice Department to punish those who hold the powerful accountable.' James is scheduled to appear in a Virginia court on 24 October, where her legal team is expected to seek dismissal of the charges.
