What we know about the fraud case against New York attorney general Letitia James

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NEW YORK (AP) — New York Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime political foe of President Donald Trump, was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on mortgage fraud charges.

It's a case she says is bogus, cooked up by the Justice Department to cater to Trump, who had pushed for the Democrat to be prosecuted for something and ousted a federal prosecutor who resisted bringing charges.

It's also a turnabout for James, who spent years investigating and suing the Republican president. She won a staggering judgment — later reversed on appeal — in a lawsuit alleging he defrauded banks by overstating the value of his real estate holdings on financial statements.

Here’s what to know about the case against James:

James paid $137,000 in 2020 for a house in Norfolk, Virginia, where she has family.

Under the terms of her mortgage, the house was supposed to be primarily for her “personal use and enjoyment” for a period of one year, after which she was free to do whatever she liked with the property. The indictment brought by a federal prosecutor in Virginia said James never intended to live there and instead used it as an investment property, renting it to a family of three.

Prosecutors say that if James had been truthful with the bank about the home's intended use, she likely would have had to pay a slightly higher interest rate on her mortgage, costing her about $19,000 over the life of the loan.

“No one is above the law,” Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement. “The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust.”

James and her lawyers haven't answered questions yet about the home purchase.

In a statement, though, James said the charges are “baseless” and decried the indictment as “nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.”

Trump pushed for months to charge James, posting on social media without citing any evidence that she’s “guilty as hell” and telling reporters at the White House, “It looks to me like she’s really guilty of something."

Last month, the Trump administration pushed out Erik Siebert, who led the U.S. attorney's office investigating James, after he resisted pressure to file charges. He was replaced with Halligan, a former White House aide and ex-Trump lawyer who had never previously served as a federal prosecutor.

James hasn't been arrested. She is scheduled to make an initial appearance in a federal court in Virginia on Oct. 24.

It is likely to be months before the matter comes to trial, during which James is likely to remain free and can continue to serve as New York's attorney general. In that role, she represents the state in legal disputes, regulates charities and certain business matters, and is involved in prosecuting some crimes.

Legal experts say she would automatically relinquish her office.

Under New York law, a felony conviction or guilty plea by a public office holder triggers an immediate vacancy, according to Rachael Fauss, a senior policy advisor at Reinvent Albany, a good government group. The state Legislature would then pick someone to fill the role until a special election is called.

James has been a needle in Trump's side for years.

In 2022, she filed a lawsuit claiming Trump and his companies had repeatedly lied to banks and others about his wealth as he built the real estate empire that launched him to stardom and the presidency.

A judge ultimately ruled that Trump had committed fraud, but the legal battle is still going.

Last month, an appeals court threw out the judge's financial penalty, which had grown to more than $500 million with interest, but affirmed a lower-court finding that Trump committed fraud.

James is now asking the state’s highest court to reinstate the penalty, while Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing, is seeking to have other non-monetary punishments lifted.

Since taking office in 2019, James has also brought dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration seeking to block or reverse his policies.

James’ indictment comes two weeks after former FBI Director James Comey was indicted on charges he lied to Congress.

The Justice Department also has been investigating mortgage-related allegations against Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook, another Black woman official, using the probe to demand her ouster.

And, the department has been investigating U.S. Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat whose lawyer has called the allegations “transparently false, stale, and long debunked.”