The legal clashes between New York Attorney General Letitia James and President Donald Trump took a U-turn with a federal indictment on Oct. 9 charging James with mortgage fraud. The government says when James bought a house in Norfolk, Virginia, she told the mortgage broker it would be a second home in order to get a lower interest rate, but she then used it as a rental property.
James called the charges in the indictment “baseless.” News reports say the house was purchased for her great-niece who lived in the home rent-free, though James has listed a few thousand dollars in income from the property.
Legal experts have questioned the merits of the indictment. “In my experience, federal prosecutors would not have seriously pursued something this minor,” James Kainen, a professor with expertise in real estate and white collar crime at Fordham University School of Law, told us in an email. “The indictment is disproportionate and inconsistent with established prosecutorial norms.”
Here, we’ll look at the allegations and facts surrounding the case, the history of animosity between Trump and James, and what experts say about the weight of the charges.
The case was brought by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia amid pressure from Trump to pursue his longtime political adversaries. In a Sept. 20 post on Truth Social, apparently addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Trump cited social media posts calling for the prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey,...
Nio Rises After Chinese NEV Startup Says Singapore's GIC Lawsuit Stems From False Allegations (Yicai) Oct. 17 -- Nio's shares advanced after the Chinese new energy vehicle startup said the lawsuit...