Attorney General Letitia James, who defeated Trump in court, indicted by Justice Department

On Thursday, New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted in Alexandria, Virginia, as President Donald Trump’s Justice Department continues to pursue charges against his political rival.

James had been under political investigation since May over a 2023 mortgage she took out to purchase a home in Norfolk, Virginia. However, Thursday’s indictment focuses on a 2020 mortgage for another property in Norfolk.

As per the indictment, James declared on the mortgage paperwork that a home she owned in Norfolk would be her second residence. This claim enabled her to get suitable loan terms not available for investment properties, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors’ allegations, James did not use that home and instead rented the property to a family of three. The allegations were that she falsely declared in loan applications that the home would be her second residence when they allege James knew she was using it as an investment property.

James received a lower mortgage rate on the property as a secondary mortgage compared to if the property would ave been treated as an investment property, as per the indictment. Prosecutors allege that James gained an improper amount of $18,933 over the life of the loan. 

Since Trump continues to call for his opponents to be prosecuted in court, the indictment took place. 

When Latitia James ran for New York attorney general in 2018, she promised to sue Donald Trump. She called Trump an illegitimate president. 

In a recent statement, James accused Trump – who publicly pressured prosecutors to file criminal charges against her- of a “desperate weaponization of our justice system”.

She stated that the president is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, and this is because she did her job as the New York state attorney general.

Further, she added that those charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements clearly indicate that his only goal is political retribution at any cost.

Lindey Halligan, the US prosecutor assigned to the case and said that this case proves that no one is above the law.

Trump appointed Halligan to oversee the case after another US prosecutor, Erik Siebert, resigned. 

The first court appearance for James is scheduled on 24 October, Norfolk. 

Halligan stated that if convicted, James could face up to 30 years in prison per count and up to $1 million fine on each count. 

James’s attorney, Abbey Lowell, said that they are deeply concerned that this case is driven by President Trump’s desire for revenge.