New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the civil fraud case against President Donald Trump, was indicted on Thursday by a federal grand jury in Virginia.
The indictment marks a dramatic escalation in Trump’s ongoing campaign against his political adversaries.
According to CNN and other major U.S. outlets, the 66-year-old Democrat faces charges of mortgage fraud linked to a property purchase she facilitated for her niece in Virginia in 2023. The case was brought by Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. attorney personally appointed by President Trump after her predecessor resigned, reportedly citing a lack of sufficient evidence to pursue charges.
The Washington Post reported that Halligan personally presented the case to the grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, where indictments were also recently filed against former FBI director James Comey, another long-time Trump critic.
Trump has publicly called for Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute James, Comey, and other figures he views as enemies, signaling what analysts describe as a deepening wave of retribution against political opponents.
James gained national prominence after suing Trump and his company for civil fraud, accusing them of inflating asset values to secure favorable loans and insurance deals. In that case, a New York judge ordered Trump to pay $464 million, though an appellate court later lifted the financial penalty while upholding the judgment of fraud.
In addition to James and Comey, Trump has demanded legal action against Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and former National Security Advisor John Bolton. His administration has also been accused of weaponizing federal institutions to target perceived enemies since his return to the presidency in January.
The indictments of both James and Comey came after Erik Siebert, the former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned earlier this year, allegedly telling Justice Department officials there was insufficient evidence to justify criminal charges.
Vindictive Prosecution Claims
Comey, 64, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. The charges stem from his 2020 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding the FBI’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Prosecutors allege that Comey falsely testified about authorizing an FBI employee to serve as an anonymous source for news reports. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.
Comey’s attorney, Patrick Fitzgerald, has vowed to seek dismissal of the charges, calling them a “vindictive and selective prosecution.”
Comey, who was appointed FBI director by then-President Barack Obama in 2013, was fired by Trump in 2017 during the Russia probe, a move that sparked a national controversy and multiple investigations.
Since returning to office, Trump has launched a sweeping crackdown on critics, removing officials seen as disloyal, cutting ties with law firms that represented plaintiffs in cases against him, and pulling federal funding from universities viewed as hostile to his administration.
What you should know
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who once prosecuted Donald Trump, has been indicted for mortgage fraud in Virginia.
The case, led by a Trump-appointed prosecutor, follows a growing pattern of legal actions against the president’s critics, raising concerns of politically motivated prosecutions.
