New York Attorney General Letitia James, known as one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal opponents, faced an unexpected indictment on Thursday, a dramatic move seemingly orchestrated by Trump’s Department of Justice.
Sources told CNN that James was indicted in federal court in Virginia, and did not offer details of the indictment.
James is a major rival to President Trump who successfully launched a civil lawsuit against him in February 2024 for business fraud.
The Attorney General has been the subject of a mortgage fraud investigation since May when claims surfaced that she secured a mortgage to assist her niece in purchasing a home in Virginia.
Lawyers for James explained that the accusations revolve around a single mistake on her mortgage form, where it was wrongly stated that the property would be her primary residence.
Investigators have previously claimed that James misrepresented information on loan applications for real estate she owns in both Virginia and New York to gain advantageous loan terms.
The indictment was brought by Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan, a former beauty pageant winner, recently initiated a high-profile case against former FBI Director James Comey just two weeks earlier.
Halligan’s actions targeting Trump adversaries came after the resignation of her predecessor Erik Sieber, who reportedly stepped down from the US Attorney’s office after resisting alleged pressure from the White House to file charges against Comey.
New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted on Thursday by Donald Trump ‘s Department of Justice
James is a major rival to President Trump who successfully launched a civil lawsuit against him in February 2024 for business fraud
James took office in New York in 2019 after running on promises to investigate Trump.
She has frequently been attacked by the president for her civil lawsuit against him for business fraud, in which she went after Trump, his adult sons and his real estate empire.
A New York judge found them liable for fraudulently inflating the value of Trump properties in September 2023, and Trump was hit with a $355 million fine. He has appealed the ruling.
James is also among a number of state attorneys general that have recently sued the Trump administration to block actions taken by the White House.
By April of this year, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Trump ally Bill Pulte, sent a letter to the DOJ, accusing James of falsifying records related to her properties in Virginia and Brooklyn.
Amid the investigation, Sieber reportedly refused to bring charges after interviewing dozens of witnesses.
Elizabeth Yusi, a prosecutor from the Eastern Division of Virginia, has recently said she, too, found no probable cause in the investigation.
Sibert was ultimately replaced by Halligan after he refused pressure from Trump to bring charges against James and Comey and sources told MSNBC on Monday they are now bracing for Yusi to be fired.
James was accused of falsifying records to obtain home loans for this Norfolk, Virginia property in 2023
James has denied allegations that she committed mortgage fraud in her loan application, and insisted it was a small mistake on one page of documents.
Her attorneys have released documents they say prove she mistakenly ticked a box to say the Virginia mortgage was for her primary residence.
This includes an email to her loan originator that made clear, ‘this property WILL NOT be my primary residence’, according to CNN.
But Trump has maintained that the New York attorney general ‘is very guilty of something,’ saying so in a mid-September Q&A session in the Oval Office with reporters.
In that same back-and-forth, he expressed his displeasure with Sieber, saying: ‘I want him out,’ before the prosecutor resigned and was replaced by Halligan, a former White House aide who previously served as the president’s defense attorney.
She had no prior prosecutorial experience.
The indictment against James has been brought by Lindsey Halligan, the new U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia
The Justice Department has also opened mortgage fraud probes into U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat who led the House of Representatives’ inquiry that led to Trump’s impeachment in 2019, and Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden.
Neither Schiff nor Cook has been charged with a crime, and they both deny wrongdoing.
James is now being supported by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
‘New Yorkers know @NewYorkStateAG James for her integrity, her independence and her relentless fight for justice,’ she posted on X.
‘What we’re seeing today is nothing less than the weaponization of the Justice Department to punish those who hold the powerful accountable.’
Daily Mail has contacted James’ office for comment.
