New York Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime critic of President Donald Trump, was charged on Thursday with lying on a mortgage application, as the administration intensifies its use of government power against perceived political opponents.
A grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, returned an indictment charging James with one count of bank fraud and one count of making a false statement to a lending institution, according to court records.
The indictment marks the second in as many weeks against a high-profile Trump adversary, a Republican who campaigned for the presidency pledging retribution after facing multiple legal challenges since leaving office in 2021.
Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on September 25 on charges of making false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation, which he denies. The Justice Department has also opened probes into U.S. Senator Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, among others. Neither Schiff nor Cook has been charged with a crime, and both deny wrongdoing.
James, a Democrat, said in a statement that she would continue serving as New York State’s top law enforcement official and described the charges as “a continuation of the president's desperate weaponization of our justice system.”
“We will fight these baseless charges aggressively,” James added.
Trump administration officials deny that the president is using the Justice Department for political purposes, arguing that Democrats similarly weaponized the department against an adversary when federal prosecutors charged Trump in 2023. Trump pleaded not guilty, and the cases have since been dismissed.
“One tier of justice for all Americans,” Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on X following James’ indictment.
James due in court on Oct. 24
The indictment accuses James of falsely telling a bank that she would occupy a Norfolk, Virginia, home she bought in 2020 for around $137,000 as a secondary residence. It alleges she used it as an investment property.
The indictment said the alleged misrepresentation allowed James to receive a favorable interest rate, saving her around $19,000 over the life of the loan.
"The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public's trust," Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement.
Both charges require prosecutors to prove that James had criminal intent, meaning she knowingly provided false information to secure a financial benefit.
That means an incorrect fact on documents she submitted to the bank on its own may not be enough to secure a conviction, and the defense may argue that any misrepresentations were mistakes.
The Norfolk property referenced in the indictment was different from a home at the center of a criminal referral that Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, a Trump appointee, sent the Justice Department in April.
James' lawyer Abbe Lowell said at the time that James mistakenly stated the property would be a primary residence, that she made it clear in other documents it would not be, and that her broker understood that.
In a statement on Thursday, Lowell said he was concerned the case was driven by Trump's desire for revenge.
"We will fight these charges in every process allowed in the law," Lowell said.
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jamar Walker, who was appointed by former Democratic President Joe Biden.
A federal judge scheduled James' initial court appearance for October 24 in Norfolk.
James' office sued Trump
James is one of several Democratic state attorneys general who have sued to block Trump administration actions. She is best known for bringing a civil fraud case against Trump and his family real estate company in 2022. The case resulted in a $454.2 million penalty against Trump after a judge found he fraudulently overstated his net worth to dupe lenders.
A New York state appeals court in August threw out the penalty, which had grown to more than a half-billion dollars with interest, but upheld the trial judge's finding that Trump was liable for fraud. Both Trump and James' office are appealing to the state's highest court.
Trump denied wrongdoing. He has accused James' office of bringing the case against him for political reasons.
Trump has repeatedly assailed James on social media and at political rallies as a partisan enemy.
"This is what tyranny looks like," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who represents New York, said in a statement. "President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog."
Indictment follows charges against Comey
The indictments against both James and Comey came after Trump, in a September 20 social media post addressed to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, said James, Comey and Schiff were "guilty as hell."
Comey pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. Trump has regularly assailed Comey's handling of the FBI investigation that detailed contacts between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign.
Both indictments were brought by Halligan, who was installed last month as the top federal prosecutor in Alexandria, Virginia. Her predecessor, Erik Siebert, resigned on September 19, hours after Trump told reporters: "I want him out."
Siebert believed the evidence against Comey and James was weak, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters at the time.
As with the Comey case, Halligan presented the evidence against James to the grand jury by herself, without support from career prosecutors in the office, a person familiar with the matter said.
Comey's lawyers are expected to argue Halligan was unlawfully appointed as U.S. attorney. If that motion is successful, it could complicate the cases against Comey and James down the road.
The Justice Department, after receiving referrals from Pulte, has also opened mortgage fraud probes into Schiff, a Democrat who led the House of Representatives' inquiry that led to Trump's impeachment in 2019, and Cook, who was appointed to the Fed's board by Biden.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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