A grand jury has, for a second time, declined to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, refusing to revive a mortgage fraud prosecution reportedly encouraged by President Donald Trump.
This decision represents another significant blow to the Justice Department, following the earlier dismissal of charges against James and James Comey, the former FBI director, in what has been seen as a stunning rebuke of the Trump administration’s efforts to prosecute political opponents.
The original indictment against James was thrown out by a judge in November.
The ruling found that the prosecutor who presented the case to the grand jury, Lindsey Halligan, had been illegally appointed as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Despite this, the Justice Department had sought a fresh indictment from a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, on Thursday, after a different grand jury in Norfolk had already refused to do so just last week.
The allegations against James relate to her purchase of a modest house in Norfolk, where she has family. James has consistently stated that the case is politically motivated and has denied any wrongdoing.
Halligan assumed office just days after Trump posted a message on Truth Social, complaining to Bondi that “nothing is being done” about Comey and James. Both have drawn the president’s ire — Comey for probing the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia, and James for launching a civil fraud suit against Trump.
“We can’t delay any longer,” Trump wrote.
A few weeks later, a federal grand jury indicted James on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a loan for a property she purchased in Virginia in 2020.
“No one is above the law,” Halligan said at the time. “The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust.”
James called the charges “baseless” and described them as a form of blatant “political retribution.” She pleaded not guilty.
