New York State Attorney General Letitia James was indicted Thursday by a grand jury on one count of bank fraud and one count of falsifying statements to a financial institution.
The indictment was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia courthouse, the same place former FBI Director James Comey was indicted at the end of last month. The charges are connected to a home in Virginia that James purchased in 2023.
James declared that the Norfolk home was her primary residence in 2023, simultaneous with the beginning of her second term as attorney general. Federal housing regulator Bill Pulte brought the issue to the Justice Department this past spring. James insisted that she purchased the home with her niece, who used the property as her primary residence.
“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 in a statement. “The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties.”
The indictment alleges that by listing the home as her primary residence, James was able to secure better loan terms, and then she rented the home to a local family.
James brought a civil fraud lawsuit against President Donald Trump last year, on the basis that the Trump Organization inflated the value of the company. An appeals court has thrown out the multimillion-dollar penalty against the Trump Organization but maintained the guilty verdict.
Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul spoke out to defend James after the indictment, saying New Yorkers know her “for her integrity, her independence, and her relentless fight for justice.”
“What we’re seeing today is nothing less than the weaponization of the Justice Department to punish those who hold the powerful accountable,” Hochul said in a post on X.