New York Attorney General Letitia James was arraigned at a federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, Friday, where she pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
The charges against James stem from her 2020 purchase of a home in Norfolk, Virginia. Prosecutors allege that James misled a bank about the nature of the residence in order to obtain more favorable loan conditions.
The indictment states that James misrepresented the financial institution in claiming it would be her secondary residence, and instead rented it out to a family.
According to the indictment, the lower interest rate would allow James to save nearly $19,000 over the course of the 30-year loan.
James entered the not guilty plea herself to U.S. District Judge Jamar K. Walker.
She is being represented in the case by defense attorney Abbe Lowell, and by Andrew Bosse, a former assistant U.S. attorney based in Norfolk who formerly headed up the office’s criminal division.
James’ arraignment is the latest in a string of prosecutions brought against the president’s perceived political foes, despite objections from career prosecutors — some of whom have since been fired or resigned.
James, a Democrat, has long-drawn Trump’s ire after she campaigned for attorney general in 2016 largely on vows to investigate Trump’s actions and businesses.
She also successfully secured a $450 million civil fraud case against him last year, though an appeals court later tossed the financial penalty portion of the case.
“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” James said in a statement after she was indicted.
“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,” she added.
Her indictment, like the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, was presented to a grand jury by former White House aide Lindsey Halligan, whom President Donald Trump installed as the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last month.
Trump, in September, said he would install Halligan as the top prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, replacing interim attorney Erik Siebert, who resigned under pressure to indict both Comey and James.
“No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” Halligan said in a statement. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”
After the arraignment, it is likely that she will file a motion to dismiss her case for vindictive and selective prosecution, following similar steps taken by Comey’s legal team in Alexandria earlier this week.
5 Responses
Lock her up.
Please show us pics of the perp walk!
it’s funny how the democrats only object to the “weaponization of the justice system” when they aren’t the ones doing the “weaponizing”.
“No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” Halligan said in a statement. “The facts and the law in this [Letitia James ] case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”
Almost exactly what the accused said as she went after Trump on remarkably similar charges. Actually, that is exactly what she said. “No one is above the law.” Word for word. Just saw her say it. And the indictment cites evidence stronger than what she had.
Facing prosecution is costly and difficult emotionally even if you are certain you will be found not guilty.
I would have more sympathy for her if she hadn’t used these same tactics against ordinary people across the city both in her role as DA and before that at the state AG’s office.
Not to mention the whole “turnabout is fair play” with this prosecution mirroring her prosecution of the president.