New York Attorney General Letitia James indicted on fraud charges: reports | Donald Trump news

James was a personal target of US President Trump, who successfully sued him for overstating his wealth to deceive lenders.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime foe of US President Donald Trump, has been charged with bank fraud, Reuters reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, as the administration seeks to use government power against those who pursued investigations into Trump or openly resisted his agenda.

Reuters and Associated Press reported this development on Thursday.

James was indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia on one count after an investigation into mortgage fraud, the Associated Press said, citing an unnamed source. James’ case remained secret Thursday, making it impossible to evaluate the evidence the prosecution has.

James’ office had no immediate comment Thursday.

Trump, a Republican who campaigned for reelection partly on a pledge of revenge after running into a slew of legal troubles since his first term in the White House ended in 2021, has repeatedly attacked James, a Democrat, on social media and at political rallies as a partisan enemy.

The indictment against James comes after a grand jury in Virginia on September 25 indicted the former FBI director. James Comey Charged with making false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation. Comey said he was innocent. Trump has regularly attacked Comey’s handling of the FBI investigation that detailed contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign in 2016.

James is one of several Democratic attorneys general who have sued to block the Trump administration’s actions. She famously filed a civil fraud case against Trump and his family’s real estate company in 2022. The case resulted in a $454.2 million fine against Trump after… The judge found that he fraudulently overstated his net worth To deceive lenders.

New York State Court of Appeals in August He delivered the punishmentwhich increased to more than $500 million with interest, but upheld the trial judge’s finding that Trump was liable for the fraud. The offices of Trump and James are filing an appeal with the state Supreme Court.

Trump denied any wrongdoing. He accused James’s office of filing the case against him for political reasons.

In May, the FBI opened a criminal investigation into mortgage fraud allegations against James.

The investigation was opened after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Bolte, a Trump appointee, sent a letter to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) alleging that James “falsified records” to obtain favorable loans on homes she purchased in Virginia and Brooklyn.

James’s lawyer, Abbey Lowell, said at the time that the accusations were “baseless and long discredited.”

The Justice Department, after receiving referrals from Polte, also opened mortgage fraud investigations into U.S. Senator Adam Schiff, a Democrat who led the House investigation that led to Trump’s impeachment in 2019, and Lisa cookHe is a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors appointed by former US President Joe Biden, Democrat.

Neither Schiff nor Cook have been charged with a crime, and both deny any wrongdoing.

“Weaponizing the judicial system”

In August, the Justice Department impaneled a grand jury and asked James’ office to produce documents about the lawsuit and a separate case it brought against the National Rifle Association (NRA), a person familiar with the investigation told Reuters at the time.

In the NRA case, jurors found its former CEO, Wayne LaPierre, and others responsible for years of financial mismanagement, but the judge decided not to impose an outside monitor on the gun rights group.

Federal prosecutors investigating James’ case are examining whether her cases deprive Trump and others of their civil rights, this person said.

Legal decisions are often appealed, but it is highly unusual for government lawyers to face criminal investigation for cases they have brought, especially those that have gone to trial and been upheld by the courts.

Lowell called the civil rights investigation “a stark and desperate example of this administration’s campaign of political retaliation against the president.”

“Any use of the justice system as a weapon should trouble every American,” James’ office said in a statement on August 8. “We stand strongly behind our successful lawsuit.”