New York Attorney General Letitia James has been indicted on federal charges of bank fraud. The indictment comes after months of President Donald Trump pressuring the Justice Department to prosecute James and other Trump critics, despite serious questions about the case. James has pledged to fight against what she frames as political persecution.
James pledges to fight ‘baseless’ fraud charges relating to mortgage
As CNN reported, James was charged Thursday by a federal grand jury in Virginia with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. The two counts relate to a 2020 mortgage James received for a property in Norfolk, Virginia, and allege that she falsely portrayed it as a second home rather than a rental property to secure a more favorable mortgage rate. James is alleged to have saved over $18,000 through the second home classification. James was defiant in her response to the charges, which she and many supporters see as retaliation for her prosecution of Trump and the Trump Organization for fraud in 2024.
“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system. He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York State attorney general,” James said in a video statement released shortly after news of the indictment broke. “These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,” James continued. “I’m a proud woman of faith, and I know faith and fear cannot share the same space,” James declared, pledging to fight the “baseless charges against me.”
Under pressure from Trump, the administration targets his political foes
The indictment comes after significant pressure from Trump for the Justice Department to go after James and other adversaries. In September, Trump posted an angry message on social media — possibly intended to be a private message — in which he ordered U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after James, as well as Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and former FBI Director James Comey.
“What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done,” Trump posted. “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!” Trump added in the message. Trump also forced the resignation of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Erik Siebert, who refused to push criminal charges against James and Comey. Trump’s handpicked replacement, Lindsey Halligan, pursued charges, even over objections from within her office. Comey was indicted on dubious charges of lying to Congress, which he argues are baseless and examples of “vindictive prosecution” by the Trump administration.
The charges against Comey and now James are part of a larger pattern of the Trump administration retaliating against political foes. In addition to James, Trump officials have made similar mortgage fraud allegations against Schiff and Federal Reserve Board governor Lisa Cook, whom Trump has so far unsuccessfully tried to remove from her position based on the questionable allegations. The Trump administration has, for example, fired FBI agents who kneeled during the 2020 protests over the killing of George Floyd and attempted to retaliate against agents involved in the January 6 investigations as well. Trump recently threatened to have Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson arrested for opposing his administration’s aggressive ICE raids; Trump has also targeted Chicago for National Guard intervention, as he has other Democratic-led cities.
Together, these actions paint a disturbing picture of abuse of power to settle scores and take revenge against Trump’s adversaries. Now, the indictment of James takes this trend to a dangerous new level, with the Trump administration seeking to prosecute a public official who prosecuted Trump. Having pressured the Justice Department to do his bidding, the indictment against James may not be the last instance of politicized prosecution under the Trump White House.