New York Attorney General Letitia James, long known for her high-profile legal battles against Donald Trump, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. The indictment, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, centers on a 2020 mortgage James obtained for a home in Norfolk. Prosecutors allege she falsely declared the property would serve as her secondary residence when, in reality, she used it as a rental property – a violation of her mortgage terms that allowed her to secure better rates and save nearly $19,000 over the life of the loan.
U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, appointed after President Trump removed her predecessor Erik Siebert, announced the charges, saying, “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 emphasized that her office would “continue following the facts and the law to ensure that justice is served.”
The indictment accuses James of seeking to defraud two financial institutions, OVM Financial and First Savings Bank. She faces up to 30 years in prison for each count, as well as fines up to $1 million per count. James’s first court appearance is scheduled for October 24 in Norfolk before Magistrate Judge Douglas Miller.
How the case began
The investigation into James began earlier this year after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte sent a referral to the Department of Justice alleging that James falsified property records in both Virginia and Brooklyn to obtain better mortgage terms. Pulte claimed that she “appeared to have falsified records” and misrepresented her residence status to qualify for lower interest rates. The referral suggested she may have claimed a Norfolk property as her primary or secondary residence despite using it for rental income.
While early investigators reportedly found insufficient evidence to pursue charges, Halligan revived the case after her appointment by President Trump. Critics note that career prosecutors had declined to move forward before Halligan — a former White House aide and Trump’s personal attorney — took control. Despite those concerns, a Virginia grand jury approved the indictment last week.
James’s defense and political response
James immediately condemned the indictment as politically motivated. “This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” she said in a statement. “The president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost.” She added, “I am a proud woman of faith, and I know that faith and fear cannot share the same space. We will fight these baseless charges aggressively, and my office will continue to fiercely protect New Yorkers and their rights.”
Her attorney, Abbe D. Lowell, said that he and his client were “deeply concerned that this case is driven by President Trump’s desire for revenge,” arguing that “when a president can publicly direct charges to be filed against someone — when it was reported that career attorneys concluded none were warranted — it marks a serious attack on the rule of law.”
Democratic leaders have echoed James’s defense. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declared, “This is what tyranny looks like. President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog, targeting Attorney General Tish James for the ‘crime’ of prosecuting him for fraud — and winning.” New York Governor Kathy Hochul also criticized the indictment, calling it “nothing less than the weaponization of the Justice Department to punish those who hold the powerful accountable,” while praising James for her “relentless fight for justice.”
Other Democrats have warned of long-term damage to the justice system. Representative Daniel Goldman said the case reflected “gross abuse” of the criminal justice process, and former Governor Andrew Cuomo — who was forced from office after an investigation by James’s office — noted, “Whether it comes from the right or the left, from prosecutors or politicians, the politicization of law enforcement is dangerous and corrosive.”
The irony
Supporters of Donald Trump see the indictment as poetic justice. Eric Trump called it “the ultimate irony,” pointing out that James “literally sued us over the fact we’d never missed a mortgage payment,” and now faces charges “for allegedly doing exactly what she accused us of.” He added, “Her entire life, every tweet that she sent, everything that she did was aimed at my father and our family and trying to destroy him.” Eric Trump also said the appellate court’s decision to overturn the half-billion-dollar penalty against the Trump Organization proved that “she lost, and we won five-zero.”
Representative Elise Stefanik said the indictment “proves no one is above the law, including New York’s corrupt attorney general,” while conservative commentators described it as “accountability coming full circle.”
President Trump himself had been publicly urging the Justice Department to pursue charges against James, writing last month, “Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, and Letitia? We can’t delay any longer. They impeached me twice, and indicted me five times over nothing. Justice must be served now!”
How James’s feud with Trump began
Letitia James built much of her political brand on opposing Donald Trump. During her 2018 campaign for attorney general, she called him an “illegitimate president” and promised to “shine a bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings.” Once elected, she launched multiple lawsuits challenging Trump administration policies and opened a civil fraud investigation into the Trump Organization.
That investigation culminated in her 2022 lawsuit accusing Trump and his adult sons of inflating property values to secure better loan and insurance terms. In early 2024, a New York judge ruled in her favor, finding the former president liable for fraud and imposing a penalty exceeding $500 million. But the victory was short-lived. In August 2025, a state appeals court threw out the financial penalty as excessive under the Constitution’s Eighth Amendment, while still upholding the finding that Trump had exaggerated his net worth. Trump called the original trial “a rigged decision,” while James hailed the appellate ruling as proof that her investigation was “based on facts and evidence, not politics.”
Republicans and Democrats are sharply divided over what the indictment represents. Trump supporters argue that James is finally facing scrutiny for the same kind of conduct she alleged against others. They view the charges as proof that her investigations were politically motivated. “She tried to destroy us,” Eric Trump said on Newsmax, “and now she’s being forced to answer for her own lies.”
Democrats, however, warn that the prosecution marks a dangerous turning point. Senator Adam Schiff described it as “a campaign of vindictive prosecution” and compared it to “Nixon’s enemies list.” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes called the case “a shocking abuse of power,” and New Jersey’s Attorney General Matt Platkin said it was “a sham reminiscent of authoritarian regimes.”
Even some Republicans expressed concern that the precedent could backfire. Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina remarked, “Whatever threshold gets set here is the new floor for future prosecutions when roles are reversed.”
James’s legal fate now rests in the federal courts of Virginia, but the political consequences will reverberate far beyond. Whether seen as long-delayed justice or a politically driven prosecution, her case is likely to define the next phase of the ongoing struggle between Trump’s administration and its adversaries – a fight that began with her vow to “hold those in power accountable” and has now turned sharply back toward her.
NP Editor: Live by the sword, die by the sword
