New York Legal professional Basic, Letitia James, speaks after pleading not responsible exterior the USA District Court docket, on Oct. 24, 2025, in Norfolk, Va.
John Clark/AP
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John Clark/AP
The Justice Division failed Thursday to safe a brand new indictment in opposition to New York Legal professional Basic Letitia James after a choose dismissed the earlier mortgage fraud prosecution inspired by President Donald Trump, in accordance with folks accustomed to the matter.
Prosecutors went again to a grand jury in Virginia after a choose’s ruling halting the prosecution of James and one other longtime Trump foe, former FBI Director James Comey, on the grounds that the U.S. legal professional who introduced the instances was illegally appointed. However grand jurors rejected prosecutors’ request to convey fees.
It is the most recent setback for the Justice Division in its bid to prosecute the frequent political goal of the Republican president.
Prosecutors are anticipated to strive once more for an indictment, in accordance with one particular person accustomed to the matter who spoke on the situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t approved to publicly talk about the case.
James was initially charged with financial institution fraud and making false statements to a monetary establishment in reference to a house buy in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020. Lindsey Halligan, a former White Home aide and Trump lawyer, personally introduced the case to the grand jury in October after being put in as U.S. legal professional for the Japanese District of Virginia amid stress from Trump to cost Comey and James.
James has denied any wrongdoing and accused the administration of utilizing the justice system to hunt revenge in opposition to Trump’s political opponents. In a press release Thursday, James stated: “It’s time for this unchecked weaponization of our justice system to cease.”
“This needs to be the top of this case,” her legal professional, Abbe Lowell, stated in a press release. “In the event that they proceed, undeterred by a courtroom ruling and a grand jury’s rejection of the costs, will probably be a surprising assault on the rule of legislation and a devastating blow to the integrity of our justice system.”
The allegations associated to James’ buy of a modest home in Norfolk, the place she has household. Through the sale, she signed a regular doc referred to as a “second house rider” wherein she agreed to maintain the property primarily for her “private use and pleasure for at the very least one 12 months,” except the lender agreed in any other case.
Relatively than utilizing the house as a second residence, James rented it out to a household of three, permitting her to acquire favorable mortgage phrases not accessible for funding properties, prosecutors alleged.
It is the most recent instance of pushback by grand jurors because the starting of the second Trump administration. It is so uncommon for grand jurors to refuse to return an indictment that it was as soon as stated that prosecutors might persuade a grand jury to “indict a ham sandwich.” However the Justice Division has confronted setbacks in entrance of grand juries in a number of current instances.
Even when the costs in opposition to James are resurrected, the Justice Division might face obstacles in securing a conviction in opposition to James.
James’ legal professionals individually argued the case was a vindictive prosecution dropped at punish the Trump critic who spent years investigating and suing the Republican president and gained a staggering judgment in a lawsuit alleging he defrauded banks by overstating the worth of his actual property holdings on monetary statements. The high-quality was later tossed out by the next courtroom, however each side are interesting.
The protection had additionally alleged “outrageous authorities conduct” previous her indictment, which the protection argued warrants the case’s dismissal. The choose hadn’t dominated on the protection’s arguments on these issues earlier than dismissing the case final month over the appointment of Lindsey Halligan as U.S. legal professional.
U.S. District Decide Cameron McGowan Currie took problem with the mechanism the Trump administration employed to nominate Halligan to guide one of many Justice Division’s most elite and vital workplaces.
Halligan was named as a substitute for Erik Siebert, a veteran prosecutor within the workplace and interim U.S. legal professional who resigned in September amid Trump administration stress to file fees in opposition to each Comey and James.
The next night time, Trump stated he could be nominating Halligan to the function of interim U.S. legal professional and publicly implored Legal professional Basic Pam Bondi to take motion in opposition to his political opponents, saying in a Fact Social publish that, “We will not delay any longer, it is killing our popularity and credibility” and “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
Comey was indicted three days after Halligan was sworn in by Bondi, and James was charged two weeks after that.
The Justice Division had defended Halligan’s appointment however has additionally revealed that Bondi had given Halligan a separate place of “Particular Legal professional,” presumably as a method to defend the indictments from the potential for collapse. However Currie stated such a retroactive designation couldn’t save the instances.
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Richer reported from Washington.
