The FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office have launched a criminal investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James. Her attorneys call the issue “political retribution.”
Property purchase at center of allegations
The probe comes less than one month after the Trump administration referred her for potential mortgage fraud. James and her niece, Shamice Thompson-Hairston, purchased a home in Norfolk, Virginia, for $240,000. On the mortgage document, James stated she intended to occupy the property as her “principal residence.”
To serve as New York attorney general, James must legally reside in New York state.
Federal official accuses James of document falsification
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte sent a letter in April to the Justice Department, accusing James of falsifying documents to obtain better mortgage terms on the Virginia property. James responded by calling the allegations baseless.
Defense from legal team
James’ lawyer, Abbe Lowell, responded in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, calling the Trump administration’s referral “the latest act of improper political retribution.” Lowell argued James was helping her niece with financial support in order to secure the loan, and that the mortgage broker was aware of this arrangement.
In the letter to Bondi, Lowell said a mistake had been made on the mortgage application, writing, “Director Pulte cherry-picked an August 17, 2023 power of attorney that mistakenly stated the property to be Ms. James’ principal residence and at the same time absolutely ignored her very clear and all caps statement two weeks earlier to the mortgage loan broker that ‘[T]his property will not be my primary residence. It will be Shamice’s primary residence.’”
James has not publicly commented on the opening of the investigation.
Ongoing legal and political tensions with Trump
President Donald Trump and James have a history. After Trump’s first term in the White House, in September 2022, James filed a civil fraud lawsuit against Trump, accusing him and the Trump Organization of inflating asset values on financial statements to secure favorable loans.
In February 2024, New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur F. Engoron ruled in favor of James, ordering Trump to pay more than $450 million in damages and banning Trump from serving as an officer or director of any New York-based company for three years. The case is currently under appeal.
