(The Center Square) — New York Attorney General Letitia James is praising a federal judge’s ruling Monday tossing out an indictment against her for mortgage fraud, doubling down on claims that the charges were politically motivated.
U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie ordered the charges against James and former FBI director James Comey to be dismissed on the grounds that Lindsey Halligan, the interim U.S. attorney who secured their indictments, was unlawfully appointed to the role. Halligan was hand-picked by President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to take over the cases against the pair.
“I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country,” James, a Democrat, said in a statement. “I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.”
In the ruling, Currie rejected the department’s claims that the Attorney General had the authority to make Halligan a government attorney even though she wasn’t one when the indictments were signed.
“The implications of a contrary conclusion are extraordinary. It would mean the Government could send any private citizen off the street — attorney or not — into the grand jury room to secure an indictment so long as the Attorney General gives her approval after the fact,” she wrote. “That cannot be the law.”
But Currie’s rulings tossed out both indictments “without prejudice,” leaving open the possibility that cases against Comey and James can be filed again alleging the same crimes.
James was indicted in October by a federal grand jury on one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Federal prosecutors allege James falsely claimed on an application for a federally backed mortgage that she would be living in a Norfolk, Virginia, home she bought in 2020 for about $137,000 as a secondary residence, but allegedly used it as an investment property. The alleged misrepresentation to the bank allowed James to receive a favorable interest rate, saving her nearly $19,000 over the life of the loan, prosecutors allege.
James has denied any wrongdoing and claims the charges are a “politically motivated” response to her office’s legal challenges.
James, first elected in 2018, has been a frequent critic of Trump and has filed several multistate lawsuits against the Trump administration over federal immigration policies, rollbacks in federal funding, and worker layoffs and other actions. That includes a civil fraud trial that ended in a $454 million judgment against Trump and his company, which was overturned by a New York appeals court. James has appealed the ruling.
