Letitia James, Attorney General of New York (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Two separate career prosecutors did not believe there was enough evidence to support mortgage fraud charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James. But James was the driving force behind the civil fraud case against the Trump Organization and a major thorn in Donald Trump’s side. SO... we are there.
Today, James became the second Trump political enemy to be indicted. Yes, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, was forced out of his job for refusing to bring these same charges against James. And Elizabeth Yusi, head of major criminal prosecutions in the Norfolk office, was preparing for the same fate by refusing to file charges. But Trump installed his former personal attorney Lindsey Halligan (with no prosecutorial experience) in Siebert’s old role, and well, she doesn’t have the same qualms.
The charges against James have not been made public, but several sources are available. report at least one fraud charge has been returned by a grand jury. James has been under investigation for mortgage fraud since 2023 for a loan she took out to help her niece obtain housing. A document contained in the loan application allegedly indicated that the house in question was going to be James’ primary residence, which his team claims was an error. Other loan documents indicate that the property will not be James’ primary residence, and in an email to the loan originator, James wrote “this property WILL NOT be my primary residence.”
Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcastand co-host of Think like a lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter. @Kathryn1 or Juggernaut @(email protected).
