New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted by federal prosecutors on Thursday in a mortgage fraud case that President Donald Trump urged to bring on after publicly vowing retribution against some of his biggest political enemies, according to the Associated Press.
James, a Democrat who prosecuted Trump after his first term with a lawsuit alleging that he built his business empire on lies about his wealth, was charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a home purchase in Norfolk, Va., in 2020.
The top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, a former Trump aide, personally presented the case to the grand jury weeks after she was thrust into the role amid the administration’s pressure to deliver charges, the AP reported.
The indictment pertains to James’ purchase of a house in Norfolk, where she has family. During the sale, she signed a standard document called a “second home rider” in which she agreed to keep the property primarily for her “personal use and enjoyment for at least one year,” unless the lender agreed otherwise, the news agency said.
Rather than using the home as a second residence, the indictment alleges, James rented it out to a family of three. According to the indictment, the misrepresentation allowed James to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties, the AP said.
The indictment charges James with one count of bank fraud and one count of false statements to financial institutions and says that by misrepresenting her intentions for the house, she received favorable terms that would have allowed her to save $18,933 over the life of the loan, the New York Times reported.
"This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system," James said in a statement.
Trump is "forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding," she added.
“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost," James said. "The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties."
The indictment comes two weeks after a separate criminal case charging former FBI Director James Comey with lying to Congress. It is the latest indication of the Trump administration’s norm-busting determination to use the law enforcement powers of the Justice Department to pursue the president’s political foes and public figures who once investigated him, the AP said.
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