Letitia James Indicted — What to Know

On Thursday, court documents revealed that New York Attorney General Letitia James had been indicted by a federal grand jury for charges of bank fraud and making false statements about a property she owns.

The indictment comes after FBI Director James Comey was indicted in the same Alexandria, Virginia-based district.

The move to charge James—who was involved in a civil prosecution of President Donald Trump in relation to his valuation of his assets in bank documents—drew mixed reactions, with many Democrats condemning the news.

James has declared her innocence of the allegations.

Here’s what to know.

The Charges

In the indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District Court of Virginia, prosecutors accused James of criminal errors in a 2020 mortgage application.

The charges relate to a property that James purchased in Norfolk, Virginia, in August 2020. In the application for a loan through Old Virginia Mortgage—which is backed by the federally-linked institution Fannie Mae—James affirmed that she would use the home personally and not rent it out.

Prosecutors allege she later rented the home out to a family of three. They say that this misrepresentation enabled James to obtain better loan terms than she would have been able to obtain on a rental property.

Both charges approved by the grand jury relate to this rental application.

The first charge is for bank fraud under 18 U.S. Code § 1344 and relates to the Old Virginia Mortgage component of the application.

The other charge, false statements to a financial institution under 18 U.S. Code § 1014, relates to the Fannie Mae component of the application.

If convicted, she could lose the property.

“No one is above the law,” U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, the recently-appointed lead prosecutor in the Eastern Virginia district, said in a statement on James’s indictment.

Her office said James could face up to 30 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines for each count, but notes that sentences for federal crimes are “typically less than the maximum penalties.”

James Denies Wrongdoing

James has denied wrongdoing in the case.

Her office did not immediately respond to an Epoch Times request for comment.

However, James released a statement on Thursday evening saying she’ll fight the charges and described them as “baseless” and “nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.”

“We will fight these baseless charges aggressively,” she added, “and my office will continue to fiercely protect New Yorkers and their rights.”

Later, James posted a video response to the charges on X, calling them “a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” saying that they were because she “did [her] job as New York attorney general,” referencing her role in a civil case against Trump.

She was critical of Trump for firing former U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert after he refused to bring charges against her. Trump replaced Siebert with Halligan, who formerly served as his personal attorney.
Political Reactions

Trump hasn’t weighed in on the charges.

However, since taking office, Trump has on several occasions said that James should be charged by the Justice Department.

Last month, the president posted on Truth Social that Attorney General Pam Bondi should look into cases against former FBI Director James Comey, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and James, describing them as “guilty as hell” while lamenting that “nothing is going to be done.”

Trump also told reporters at the White House earlier this year that “it looks to me like she’s really guilty of something, but I really don’t know.”

Top Republicans like Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also haven’t responded.

Democrats, however, expressed alarm over the charges, particularly in the wake of Comey’s indictment and arraignment earlier this week.

“This is what tyranny looks like,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters outside of the Capitol building on Thursday.

He said Trump has “turned the Justice Department into his personal attack dog to go after political enemies. This is tyranny. This is outrageous. Every American should be horrified—absolutely horrified—about what has happened.”

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) said in a statement on X that the charges were because James had had “the courage to hold Donald Trump accountable.”

“This is political weaponization of our courts, plain and simple—and proof that when you stand up to corruption, they come for you,” Crockett said.

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) wrote on X, “Letitia James did her job, and in return the President demanded his Attorney General prosecute her. Weeks later, Letitia is indicted by the DOJ. This is not how our justice system is supposed to work. This is vengeance, not justice.”

This week, Comey appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to charges of making a false statement and obstructing a congressional proceeding, with a trial date set for Jan. 5, 2026.

In the years before Trump took office, James brought a civil case against the Trump Organization that accused his real estate business of artificially inflating its assets to secure more favorable bank loans.

A Manhattan-based judge last year ordered the Trump Organization to pay a nearly $500 million penalty, although that judgment was thrown out on appeal on Aug. 21.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.