Letitia James calls mortgage fraud case against her vindictive and asks
judge to dismiss it
[November 08, 2025]
By ERIC TUCKER
WASHINGTON (AP) — New York Attorney General Letitia James asked a
federal judge Friday to dismiss a mortgage fraud case against her,
calling it a vindictive and politically motivated prosecution brought at
the behest of a president who regards her as an enemy.
The motion, which had been expected, lays out a litany of comments from
President Donald Trump designed to show the case was driven by personal
animus that arose out of James' fraud lawsuit against Trump in her
capacity as state attorney general.
“This lawsuit, and AG James’ outspoken criticism of the President,
triggered six years of targeted attacks. President Trump and his allies
have used every insulting term in their vocabulary to deride AG James
and call for criminal penalties in retaliation for the exercise of her
rights and fulfillment of her statutory duties to fulfill her
obligations as New York state’s attorney general,” lawyers for James
wrote in urging that the case be dismissed.
The name-calling by Trump includes describing James as “crooked,”
“scum,” “a monster,” and “criminal,” according to the filing.
The filing is similar to one from another of Trump’s perceived
adversaries, James Comey, who has pleaded not guilty to charges of
making a false statement and obstructing Congress and who has said the
case against him is similarly vindictive and inspired by the president's
desire for retribution.
James is accused of lying on mortgage papers to get favorable loan terms
when purchasing a modest house in Norfolk, Virginia, where she has
family. She pleaded not guilty last month, and told reporters outside
the courthouse that the Trump administration was using the justice
system as a “tool of revenge.”
To bolster their claim of a vindictive prosecution, James' attorneys
also assert that the Justice Department has singled her out for scrutiny
“while ignoring apparent inconsistencies in the mortgage records of
numerous other public officials.”
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They say the activities that form the basis of the indictment match
the conduct of other high-profile figures who have not been
investigated or charged.
“The only meaningful difference between AG James and these
individuals is that AG James is a Democratic Attorney General who
spoke out against the President, while the others are his allies and
cabinet members,” defense lawyers wrote.
Like Comey, she was charged in Virginia by a hastily appointed U.S.
attorney, Lindsey Halligan, a White House aide without any
prosecutorial experience who was named to the post by Trump after
the administration effectively forced out the prosecutor who had
overseen both investigations, Erik Siebert, but had not brought
charges in either case.
After Siebert’s resignation, Trump, in an extraordinary social media
post, urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute James and other
political foes, noting that he had been impeached and indicted
himself multiple times. Trump wrote the administration “can’t delay
any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” adding:
“JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
James was first elected in 2018 as New York state’s top lawyer,
after holding elected jobs in New York City. She is the first woman
elected as the state’s attorney general.
James has been a frequent target of Trump’s ire, especially since
she won a staggering judgment against the president and the Trump
Organization in a lawsuit alleging he defrauded banks by overstating
the value of his real estate holdings on financial statements. An
appeals court overturned the fine, which had ballooned to more than
$500 million with interest, but upheld a lower court’s finding that
Trump had committed fraud.
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