A third attempt by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud has gone awry, with a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, reportedly refusing to return an indictment Thursday.
A grand jury seated in Norfolk had previously refused to indict James on Dec. 4. And the Department of Justice’s first case against James was thrown out on Nov. 24 when U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled the prosecutor in the case — interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan — had been unlawfully appointed.
Grand jury proceedings are conducted in secret, and the Justice Department has not responded to reports by NBC, ABC, CNN and The Washington Post citing anonymous sources that the Alexandria grand jury refused to indict James.
The Trump administration has used its control over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to level mortgage fraud accusations against four prominent Democrats — James, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, Sen. Adam Schiff, and Rep. Eric Swalwell.
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte has sent criminal referrals to the Department of Justice suggesting that each committed fraud. All have denied wrongdoing, saying they are the targets of political retribution, and only James has faced charges.
President Trump has cited Pulte’s referral of Cook as justification for removing her from the Federal Reserve board, a move that the Supreme Court has blocked pending a hearing in January.
At the request of Senate Democrats, the U.S. Government Accountability Office has agreed to investigate whether the FHFA and its employees “misused federal authority and resources” in gathering evidence against James and other perceived enemies of the Trump administration.
James won a judgment in a civil fraud case against Trump last year, and continues to battle his administration in court on other issues, including federal funding for Planned Parenthood, SNAP benefits and programs for the homeless.
Attorneys for James allege Pulte was a key member of a “Trump-directed quartet” that “engaged in outrageous conduct” to obtain an Oct. 5 indictment on baseless allegations of mortgage fraud.
Justice Department attorney Ed Martin “orchestrated a bizarre media stunt,” staging a photo op in front of James’ Brooklyn home for the New York Post, wearing “an Inspector Gadget-inspired beige trenchcoat” on a hot summer day, her attorneys said.
On Aug. 20, Martin posted a picture of himself standing in front of James’ home on X, captioned “Good morning, America. How are ya’?”
“For the second time in seven days, the Department of Justice has failed in its clear attempt to fulfill President Trump’s political vendetta against Attorney General James,” her lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement Thurday. “This unprecedented rejection makes even clearer that this case should never have seen the light of day.”
The case has “been a stain on this Department’s reputation and raises troubling questions about its integrity,” he said, and any attempt to bring charges again “would be a mockery of our system of justice.”
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