New York Attorney General Letitia James is reportedly under criminal investigation for her actions targeting President Donald Trump and another situation directed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, as discovered by – News.
Two insiders familiar with the situation informed – News that subpoenas have been issued to James concerning allegations of “deprivation of rights” related to her targeting of Trump and another case. These sources indicate there is an active grand jury investigation ordered by Bondi and managed by a U.S. Attorney’s office in New York. Although the sources didn’t specify which U.S. Attorney is conducting the investigation — as there are multiple residing in New York — it is likely the northern district, given that James’s office is in Albany, where she undertook the actions under investigation.
The sources, while not providing detailed information, mentioned the investigation is centering on a “deprivation of rights” issue. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division highlights statutes dealing with such matters. According to the Justice Department’s website, “Section 242 of Title 18 makes it a crime for a person acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.”
The DOJ website further explains that the penalty for this crime can be severe depending on its nature, including life imprisonment or the death sentence.
“For the purpose of Section 242, acts under ‘color of law’ include activities not only by officials within their lawful authority but also actions beyond that authority if the official pretends to perform their duties,” states the DOJ website. “This includes police officers, prison guards, other law enforcement officials, judges, and public-health facility staff. It’s not necessary for the crime to be motivated by bias against race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin of the victim.”
It’s uncertain if this specific statute is the basis of James’s investigation, but sources confirm it’s focused on a “deprivation of rights” related to Trump and another instance. Typically, federal subpoenas specify a statute, but these documents remain unavailable to the public for now.
This news comes after it was revealed in May of 2025 that James was under FBI investigation for potential alleged mortgage fraud. She now faces multiple criminal investigations from federal law enforcement.
James regularly campaigned for the office she holds now on going after Trump, and this line of investigation is likely to prove to be fruitful because of the fact she was so open about plotting to come after him before she won her election as New York Attorney General. As – News editor-in-chief Alex Marlow details in his just-published book Breaking The Law, James pledged to come after Trump — and then did so.
In a piece this week explaining the ties back to the Democrat Joe Biden White House of all the lawfare against Trump establishing the fact pattern laid out in his book, Marlow had this key detail:
Letitia “Tish” James is a partisan Democrat who ran and won her race for New York Attorney General specifically to try to destroy Trump. She is one of the most open and public practitioners of lawfare featured in the book. She once told a group of New York Democrats that “I look forward to going into the office of the Attorney General every day, suing [Trump], and then going home.” She uses the law to advance political goals, and she doesn’t hide that fact. Despite rising crime in New York during her tenure as state AG, she seems entirely fixated on getting Trump.
In addition, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) in February 2014, when she was House GOP conference chairwoman, sent a 64-page letter to the New York Committee on Professional Standards demanding that James be disbarred over the at least 50 specific examples of prejudicial comments she made about Trump before going after him in various civil litigation in New York in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election.
