WASHINGTON — New York Attorney General Letitia James, a high-profile critic of Donald Trump, was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury after pressure from the president.
James was charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution after Trump publicly pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi back in September to pursue cases against his political enemies.
The indictment alleges that James falsely claimed that a home in Norfolk, Virginia, was her second residence, allowing her to obtain favorable loan terms, and that she rented the property.
James could face up to 30 years in prison and up to a $1 million fine on each count if she’s convicted.
“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,” James said in a statement that she also read aloud in a video on X. “The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties.”
James brought a successful civil lawsuit against Trump in 2022, accusing him of overvaluing assets, including real estate, in loan applications.
The case being built against James hit a standstill last month because federal agents and prosecutors didn’t believe they had the evidence to secure a conviction.
Trump named his former lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, to be the acting U.S. attorney in Virginia, despite not having any prosecutorial experience.
Halligan said in a statement after James was indicted that the “charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust.”
“The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served,” she added.
James’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, said the case “is driven by President Trump’s desire for revenge.”
“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,” Lowell said in a statement. “We will fight these charges in every process allowed in the law.”
