New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted Thursday on charges of bank fraud, a stunning development that came less than a month after President Donald Trump reportedly pushed Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after his political opponents.
James did not hold back in her response. “This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” she said in a video statement. “These charges are baseless, and the president’s own statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost.” She went on to call the case a “blatant perversion of our system of justice.”
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The indictment was presented by Trump’s handpicked U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, who personally brought the case to a grand jury, according to The Guardian, which first reported the news.
“No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” Halligan said. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”
James has been one of Trump’s biggest legal foes. She previously pursued a civil fraud case that resulted in a $500 million jury verdict against him last year, although that massive penalty was overturned on appeal in August. Even so, Trump was still found liable for fraudulently inflating his net worth to gain financial advantages.
Now the tables have turned. Trump’s allies accuse James of misrepresenting information on loan paperwork involving two of her properties — a townhouse in Brooklyn and a house in Norfolk, Virginia. According to the indictment, she purchased the Virginia property as a secondary residence but rented it out to another family.
Prosecutors allege that the arrangement allowed her to qualify for better loan terms, saving her roughly $19,000 over the life of the loan. She now faces two counts: bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
The Justice Department said each count carries a potential sentence of up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
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Not everyone inside the DOJ was convinced this case should go forward. Elizabeth Yusi, a career prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, reportedly told colleagues just days ago that there was not enough evidence to indict James and had planned to raise her concerns with Halligan. Halligan’s predecessor, Erik Siebert, had already been forced out after resisting Trump’s pressure to target his perceived enemies.
James fired back, saying Halligan was “blindly loyal, not to the law, but to the president,” and called the move “antithetical to the bedrock principles of our country.”
The political undertones of the indictment were impossible to ignore. On September 20, Trump mistakenly posted what was reportedly meant to be a private message to Bondi on his Truth Social account. “Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia [sic]???” he wrote.
James now becomes the second person Trump specifically named to be indicted, following former FBI Director James Comey.
Democrats were quick to denounce the move. “One U.S. Attorney already refused this case. So, Trump hand-picked an unqualified hack that would go after another political enemy,” Sen. Chuck Schumer said on social media. “This isn’t justice. It’s revenge. And it should horrify every American who believes no one is above the law.”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul echoed that sentiment, saying, “What we’re seeing today is nothing less than the weaponization of the Justice Department to punish those who hold the powerful accountable.”