Trump Officials Push Prosecutors to Bring Charges Against NY Attorney General Letitia James

Senior figures in the Trump administration have been urging federal prosecutors in Virginia to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud, even though investigators have not uncovered evidence strong enough to support criminal charges, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

For five months, prosecutors have been reviewing James’ 2023 home purchase in Virginia, interviewing more than a dozen witnesses. Thus far, investigators have found no proof that James knowingly misled a bank to secure favorable mortgage terms, sources briefed on the case said.

Despite the lack of evidence, President Donald Trump has pressed Justice Department leaders to pursue the case more aggressively. Two of his allies - Ed Martin, head of the DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group, and Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency - have been pushing the U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia to file charges. When prosecutors recently refused, Pulte encouraged Trump to replace the top prosecutor in that office with someone who would move forward with an indictment, according to individuals familiar with the discussions.

Targeting James would represent a sharp escalation in what critics have described as a campaign of political payback. She won a high-profile civil fraud case against Trump last year and continues to lead lawsuits against his administration’s policies.

Martin and Pulte argue James committed fraud because one closing document for her Virginia property identified the house as a primary residence. Investigators, however, have determined the disputed form was a power of attorney document drafted by a third-party company that allowed James’ niece to sign closing papers. The error, investigators found, was never used by loan officers in approving the mortgage. Every other document in the loan file clearly stated that James would not be living at the property, according to sources.

James has rejected the allegations. Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, has dismissed the referral as “three pages of stale, threadbare allegations” and called it “the next salvo in President Trump’s revenge tour against Attorney General James.”

Lowell also said, “Given the cascade of unsubstantiated allegations coming from the Trump Administration on its ‘mortgage fraud’ crusade against Democrats, it’s no surprise they are having trouble finding an objective and law-abiding prosecutor who would ignore the facts and the evidence to manufacture sham charges.” He added, “As we have repeatedly said, any impartial and non-political inquiry would conclude Attorney General James did not violate any laws managing her properties.”

The push against James is part of a broader wave of investigations launched by Martin and Pulte. Both men have targeted other Democratic officials, including Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook and Rep. Adam Schiff, over similar accusations of mortgage fraud. Those officials, like James, have denied any wrongdoing.

Martin has gone further in his pursuit of James. In addition to seeking subpoenas related to her civil fraud case against Trump and her NRA corruption probe, he sent a letter urging James to resign, writing that “Her resignation from office would give the people of New York and America more peace than proceeding. I would take this as an act of good faith.”

Shortly after sending the letter, Martin posed outside James’ Brooklyn home for a staged photograph in a trench coat, later posting the image online. The stunt drew a sharp rebuke from Attorney General Pam Bondi and her deputy, Todd Blanche, who warned him the visit undermined his investigation.

Lowell blasted Martin directly in another letter, writing, “[D]espite the lack of evidence or law, you will take whatever actions you have been directed to take to make good on President Trump’s and Attorney General Bondi’s calls for revenge for that reason alone.”

Since last year, Martin and Pulte have continued to publicize their claims. Pulte, appearing on Fox News, declared, “I believe this is riddled with mortgage fraud, and frankly, I think that’s why she knew so much about the law in terms of how to go after President Trump. She was the fraudster, not President Trump.”

Martin has pressed ahead. He recently recruited prosecutors for what he calls a Special Attorney Fraud Unit. In a “Help Wanted” email, he wrote that attorneys should see themselves as “fighters for justice and goodness and the American way.” In the same message, Martin invoked James’ own past words: “After all, as New York, Attorney General Leticia [sic] James said, ‘Because no matter how big, rich, or powerful you think you are, no one is above the law.’”

Trump Officials Push Prosecutors to Bring Charges Against NY Attorney General Letitia James