JUST IN: Letitia James Lashes Out After Trump Administration’s Stunning Criminal Referral
New York State Attorney General Letitia James fired back at President Donald Trump on Wednesday, accusing the Republican in a sickeningly ironic rebuke of weaponizing the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute her.
James, a Democrat, has been referred for prosecution after evidence emerged that she may have committed mortgage fraud when she recently put her home in Virginia up for sale.
Under the terms of the transaction, James would have been required to list the dwelling as her primary residence. However, officials with the Federal Housing Finance Agency believe she did not primarily live in Virginia and may have even listed her father as her husband when filling out a mortgage application.
FHFA Director William Pulte said in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi that James appears to have falsified certain documents in order to meet the qualifications for receiving a home loan, according to Fox News. In another part of the application, she claimed a New York property she owned contained four units instead of five, allowing her to deceptively obtain a more favorable loan, Pulte claimed.
A spokesperson for the Democrat said James is “focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution. She will not be intimidated by bullies — no matter who they are.”
Jonathan Turley, a conservative law scholar and professor at George Washington University School of Law, told Fox’s Laura Ingraham that the allegations against James, who previously prosecuted President Trump for real estate fraud, are “perfectly crushing.”
“This is a person who prosecuted Trump for everything short of ripping a label off a mattress, and among the charges that were brought in New York, in not just the civil but the criminal case, was making false or misleading statements to financial institutions,” Turley said. “As for James, if we apply the Letitia James standard that she created, there’d be little question here. This seems pretty straightforward.”
Under New York law, James is required to be a state resident, contradicting her claim that the Virginia home would be where she stays most nights out of the year, Turley explained. He added that James is also accused of listing her father to claim she was married and obtain even further favorable loan terms.
“The Supreme Court just stated earlier in March, in a case called Thompson, that they want to see knowing false statements under sections, like 10-14, not just misleading statements,” Turley said. “These are misleading statements. Either it’s your principal residence or it’s not. Either you’re married to your father or he’s your father.”
Paul Mauro, a retired NYPD inspector and Fox News contributor, first broke the story almost 10 weeks ago and said he is glad to see that it is finally reaching a broader audience — and the long arm of the law.
“The documents presented by Sam Antar, and the research he has done, appear entirely authentic,” Mauro said. “In which case, AG James appears to have engaged in the very sort of fraud which she alleged in her ludicrous case against Donald Trump. Let’s see now, if indeed, as AG James has stated herself, nobody is above the law.”
