New York Attorney General Letitia James was criminally indicted on Thursday in a mortgage fraud case.
James, who got on the bad side of President Donald Trump after leading a civil fraud investigation against him in 2023, became the president's "target", as the Republican vowed retribution against his political enemies.
On Thursday, October 9, James was indicted on charges of bank fraud in the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria.
According to court documents, prosecutors accuse James of alleged bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution regarding a mortgage loan for a house in Norfolk, Virginia.
Following the charges, James issued a statement, accusing the president of a "desperate weaponization of our justice system".
"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.
Trump appointed Lindsey Halligan, his former personal attorney, to oversee the case after another US prosecutor, Erik Siebert, was reportedly ousted after he told the Justice Department that he had not found sufficient evidence to charge James.
Letitia James' first court appearance is scheduled for October 24 in Norfolk.
The federal government alleges James bought a three-bedroom home in Norfolk using a mortgage loan that required her to use the property as her secondary residence and did not allow for shared ownership or "timesharing" of the home.
Notably, the indictment claims the property "was not occupied or used" by Letitia James as a secondary residence; however, it was instead "used as a rental investment property", which was being rented to a family of three.
