Trump’s Justice Department Indicts NY Attorney General Letitia James in Escalating Political Clash

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who built her name, and a fair share of enemies, by taking on Donald Trump, now finds herself on the other side of the courtroom.

James was indicted for bank fraud on Thursday, according to Reuters and the Associated Press, citing unnamed sources familiar with the case. The charge stems from a mortgage fraud investigation in the Eastern District of Virginia. The case remains under seal, so details are scarce, including what evidence prosecutors are actually working with.

In a statement, James hit back hard.

“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” she said. “He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York State attorney general.”

Trump, who’s been open about seeking payback against political rivals, has repeatedly called James a “radical” and a “racist” during rallies and on social media. Her indictment comes just weeks after former FBI Director James Comey, another of Trump’s longtime adversaries, was charged with obstruction and false statements.

James made national headlines in 2022 when her office sued Trump and his real estate empire, accusing them of inflating property values to mislead lenders. The case ended with a $454 million penalty against Trump, later overturned by a New York appeals court, though the finding of fraud still stands. Both sides are appealing to the state’s top court.

In May, the FBI opened a mortgage fraud probe into James after a referral from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, a Trump appointee, who accused her of falsifying records to get better loan terms on properties in Virginia and Brooklyn. James’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, called those claims “baseless and long-discredited.”

The DOJ is also investigating other prominent Democrats, including Senator Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, both of whom deny wrongdoing and have not been charged.

“The most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president’s political retribution campaign,” Lowell said.

For many observers, the move against James marks a new phase in Trump’s use of federal power, one that blurs the line between justice and politics. The attorney general who once prosecuted Trump’s empire is now living his favorite line: retribution, served cold.