A federal grand jury in Virginia refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on mortgage fraud charges. This marks the second time in less than a week the Department of Justice has failed to convince a grand jury to bring charges against one of President Donald Trump’s most prominent enemies.
In total, this is the third time the federal government has brought allegations against James to a grand jury. Originally, Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, persuaded a grand jury to indict James.
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However, a judge later found that Trump had illegally appointed Halligan. The judge dismissed the charges against James, along with unrelated charges that Halligan had brought against another Trump enemy, former FBI Director James Comey.
Two different grand juries, same decision
This week, the Justice Department asked a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, to return an indictment after a different grand jury in Norfolk refused to do so on Dec. 4.
After the first grand jury refused to indict James, the Justice Department said it would try again, as Straight Arrow News previously reported. It is not clear whether Justice Department lawyers will continue to pursue the case after Thursday’s grand jury decision.
Prosecutors claim James falsely listed a home she purchased in 2020 as a second primary home instead of an investment property. They said this potentially saved her $19,000 over the life of her mortgage.
James said she believes the charges are politically motivated. She previously investigated Trump and his real-estate company for fraud, saying they routinely overvalued properties and other assets to obtain bank loans at lower rates. The court found Trump liable for fraud in the civil suit. That finding was upheld by an appeals court, but a nearly $500 million fine was thrown out.
James has denied any wrongdoing.
“As I have said from the start, the charges against me are baseless,” she previously wrote in a statement. ”It is time for this unchecked weaponization of our justice system to stop.”
