DoJ sniffs out third attempt to indict Trump Nemesis NY AG Letitia James
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- A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, declined to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on mortgage fraud charges Thursday, marking the Justice Department’s third failed attempt to prosecute her.
- Previous attempts include a Norfolk grand jury declining to indict on Dec. 4, and an earlier case being dismissed due to the unlawful appointment of prosecutor Lindsey Halligan.
- The DOJ filed mortgage fraud charges under the Trump administration against several Democrats, including James, based on referrals from FHFA Director Bill Pulte.
- Senate Democrats have called for an investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office into whether the FHFA misused federal funds against James and others seen as opponents of Trump.
An AI tool created this summary, based on the text of the article and checked by an editor.
Since the original indictment against James was dismissed in November, the DoJ has reportedly tried and failed to obtain indictments from two different federal grand juries.
A third attempt by the Trump administration’s Justice Department to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud has failed. A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, reportedly declined to bring charges on Thursday.
A grand jury in Norfolk had previously declined to indict James on December 4. And the Justice Department’s first case against James was dismissed on Nov. 24 when U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled that the prosecutor in the case — interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan — had been improperly appointed.
Grand jury proceedings are conducted in secret, and the Justice Department has not responded to reports of it NBC, ABC, CNN And The Washington Post citing anonymous sources that the Alexandria grand jury declined to indict James.
The Trump administration has used its control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to level mortgage fraud allegations against four prominent Democrats — James, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, Senator Adam Schiff and Representative Eric Swalwell.
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte has sent criminal citations to the Justice Department suggesting they all committed fraud. All have denied wrongdoing and said they are targets of political retaliation, and only James has been charged.
President Trump has cited Pulte’s referral of Cook as justification for removing her from the Federal Reserve board, a move the Supreme Court has blocked pending a hearing in January.
At the request of Senate Democrats, the U.S. Government Accountability Office has agreed to investigate whether the FHFA and its associates “misused federal authority and resources” in gathering evidence against James and other alleged enemies of the Trump administration.
James won a judgment in a civil fraud case against Trump last year, and continues to fight his administration in court on other issues, including federal funding for Planned Parenthood, SNAP benefits and programs for the homeless.
Attorneys for James allege that Pulte was a key member of a “Trump-directed quartet” that “engaged in outrageous conduct” to an indictment dated October 5 on unfounded allegations of mortgage fraud.
Justice Department attorney Ed Martin “orchestrated a bizarre media stunt,” taking a photo in front of James’ Brooklyn home for police. New York Postdressed in “an Inspector Gadget-inspired beige trench coat” on a warm summer day, her lawyers said.
On August 20, Martin posted a photo of herself standing in front of James’ house on X, with the caption “Good morning, America. How are you?”
“For the second time in seven days, the Department of Justice has failed in its apparent attempt to fulfill President Trump’s political vendetta against Attorney General James,” her attorney, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement Thursday. “This unprecedented rejection makes it even clearer that this case should never have seen the light of day.”
The case is “a stain on the reputation of this ministry and raises troubling questions about its integrity,” he said, and any attempt to refile charges “would be a mockery of our justice system.”
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