NY AG Letitia James on her indictment: a ‘determined weaponization of our justice system’
New York state lawyer normal Letitia James despatched out this assertion on the information that she has been indicted by a federal grand jury for financial institution fraud after one among Trump’s US attorneys, Lindsey Halligan, personally introduced the case to the grand jury.
She additionally posted a video of her assertion on X:
That is nothing greater than a continuation of the president’s determined weaponization of our justice system.
I’m not fearful — I’m fearless.
We’ll combat these baseless expenses aggressively, and my workplace will proceed to fiercely defend New Yorkers and their rights. pic.twitter.com/X9U0EsHuGM
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) October 9, 2025
“That is nothing greater than a continuation of the president’s determined weaponization of our justice system. He’s forcing federal regulation enforcement companies to do his bidding, all as a result of I did my job because the New York State Lawyer Normal.
“These expenses are baseless, and the president’s personal public statements clarify that his solely objective is political retribution at any price. The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of each events.
“His choice to fireside a United States Lawyer who refused to carry expenses towards me – and change them with somebody who’s blindly loyal to not the regulation, however to the president – is antithetical to the bedrock rules of our nation. That is the time for leaders on each side of the aisle to talk out towards this blatant perversion of our system of justice.
“I stand strongly behind my workplace’s litigation towards the Trump Group. We performed a two-year investigation primarily based on the details and proof – not politics. Judges have upheld the trial courtroom’s discovering that Donald Trump, his firm, and his two sons are chargeable for fraud.
“I’m a proud lady of religion, and I do know that religion and concern can’t share the identical area. And so immediately I’m not fearful, I’m fearless, and as my religion teaches me, no weapon fashioned towards me shall prosper. We’ll combat these baseless expenses aggressively, and my workplace will proceed to fiercely defend New Yorkers and their rights. And I’ll proceed to do my job.”
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Up to date at 17.43 EDT
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Extra context on the Leticia James indictment, which adopted shortly on the heels of the federal justice division indicment of one other individual Trump has lengthy seen as an enemy: former FBI direct Jim Comey.
Each the Comey and James circumstances adopted a strikingly unconventional path towards indictment, the Related Press notes. The Trump administration final month pushed out Erik Siebert, the veteran prosecutor who had overseen each investigations for months and had resisted stress to file expenses, and changed him with Lindsey Halligan, a White Home aide who has labored as lawyer for Trump however has by no means beforehand served as a federal prosecutor.
In the meantime Reuters notes that Siebert resigned on September 19, hours after Trump informed reporters: “I need him out.” Siebert believed the proof towards Comey and James was weak, two individuals accustomed to the matter informed Reuters on the time.
James known as the choice to hearth Siebert and change him with a prosecutor who’s “blindly loyal” to the president as “antithetical to the bedrock rules of our nation,” and he or she mentioned she stood by her investigation of Trump and his firm as having been “primarily based on the details and proof — not politics,” the Related Press stories.
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The Metropolis, an unbiased information outlet in New York, did a protracted podcast interview with New York lawyer normal Letitia James final week, if you happen to’re taken with listening to instantly from the embattled prosecutor who took on Donald Trump and gained, and is now criminally charged herself.
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Zohran Mamdani, the main candidate within the New York Metropolis mayoral race, has known as out rival candidate and former New York state governor Andrew Cuomo on social media for commenting on Letitia James’ indictment immediately with out truly mentioning her title.
Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 after an investigation led by James, the state’s lawyer normal, concluded that he had he sexually harassed 11 ladies, created a “local weather of concern” in a “poisonous” office and violated federal and state civil legal guidelines.
Cuomo repeatedly mentioned that James’ investigation of him was politically motivated.
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What’s behind immediately’s grand jury indictment of New York lawyer Letitia James on a financial institution fraud cost, which is being extensively condemned as a politically motivated assault? Reuters has extra particulars:
The indictment accuses James of falsely telling a financial institution that she would occupy a Norfolk, Virginia, house she purchased in 2020 for round $137,000 as a secondary residence. It alleges she used it as an funding property.
The indictment mentioned the alleged misrepresentation allowed James to obtain a positive rate of interest, saving her round $19,000 over the lifetime of the mortgage.
“The fees as alleged on this case characterize intentional, legal acts and large breaches of the general public’s belief,” Lindsey Halligan, the U.S. lawyer for the Japanese District of Virginia, mentioned in a press release.
Each expenses require prosecutors to show that James had legal intent, which means she knowingly offered false info to safe a monetary profit. Meaning an incorrect reality on paperwork she submitted to the financial institution by itself will not be sufficient to safe a conviction, and the protection could argue that any misrepresentations have been errors.
As my colleague Sam Levine stories immediately, the case could hinge on small paperwork particulars, together with one field checked on one doc:
A grand jury empaneled earlier this yr had been investigating allegations that James could have dedicated fraud when she helped her niece purchase a house in Virginia.
On a doc that was a part of that transaction, there was a field checked indicating James meant to make use of it as her main residence, which might make higher mortgage charges out there. However in different paperwork and emails along with her mortgage dealer, James clearly indicated she didn’t intend to make use of the house as her main residence.
A profession prosecutor within the japanese district of Virginia, Elizabeth Yusi, had decided there wasn’t possible trigger to file mortgage fraud expenses towards James and had been getting ready to current her pondering to Halligan.
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An replace from Illinois: US district choose April Perry blocked the deployment of Nationwide Guard troops within the Chicago space for 2 weeks, discovering no substantial proof {that a} “hazard of revolt” is brewing in Illinois, the Related Press stories.
It’s a victory for Democratic officers who lead the state and metropolis and have traded insults with President Donald Trump about his drive to place troops on the bottom in main city areas.
The lawsuit was filed Monday by Chicago and Illinois to cease the deployments of Illinois and Texas Guard members. Some troops have been already at an immigration constructing within the Chicago suburb of Broadview when Perry heard arguments on Thursday.
The constructing has been the location of occasional clashes between protesters and brokers.
Perry mentioned the actions of the Division of Homeland Safety are largely rooted in President Donald Trump’s “animus towards Illinois elected officers.” She expressed skepticism of the federal authorities’s characterization of protests in Broadview.
“DHS’s narrative of occasions is just unreliable,” she mentioned.
Heavy turnout on the downtown courthouse triggered officers to open an overflow room with a video feed of the listening to. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson sat in a nook of the courtroom.
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As my colleague Sam Levine notes immediately, Trump has made little secret of his need to make use of the justice division to punish his rivals. “What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, Leticia??? They’re all responsible as hell, however nothing goes to be finished,” he mentioned in a September submit on Fact Social that was addressed to Pam Bondi, the US lawyer normal. “We are able to’t delay any longer, it’s killing our popularity and credibility.”
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“That is what tyranny appears like,” Senate Democratic Chief Chuck Schumer, who represents New York, mentioned in a press release on Letitia James’ indictment. “President Trump is utilizing the Justice Division as his private assault canine.”
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America is sending about 200 troops to Israel to help and assist monitor the ceasefire deal in Gaza as a part of a workforce that features companion nations, non-governmental organizations and private-sector entities, US officers mentioned Thursday, the Related Press stories:
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“Overtly seeeking revenge on his political opponents…Trump is ripping a web page proper out of the authoritarian handbook.”
That’s Elizabeth Warren, Democratic senator from Massachusetts, responding to immediately’s indictment of Letitia James, the New York lawyer normal who filed a civil fraud case towards Trump in New York, and gained it. Trump has lengthy accused James of main a “witch hunt” towards him. Her full assertion:
The President of america is overtly searching for revenge on his political opponents. First Jim Comey. Now Tish James. Anybody who seeks to carry Donald Trump accountable might be subsequent. Trump is ripping a web page proper out of the authoritarian handbook.
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“Merely un-American.” That’s how the Democratic Attorneys Normal Affiliation characterised immediately’s indictment of New York lawyer normal Letitia James, a member of the group, in a press release:
Trump’s weaponization of the Division of Justice to assault a democratically elected Lawyer Normal on baseless expenses is appalling. His administration has been threatening and harassing New York AG Tish James for months, and this newest motion takes his unjust campaign towards her to a horrifying new stage. AG James has at all times fought for justice and finished proper by the individuals of New York; defending the rule of regulation and the Structure mustn’t make her a goal for political retaliation. To abuse the facility of presidency to pursue private vendettas and constantly harass AG James for the sake of political retribution is past reprehensible.
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Democratic congressional chief Hakeem Jeffries, who represents a New York district, has additionally made a press release denouncing the Trump administration’s “malicious prosecution” of New York lawyer normal Letitia James:
The baseless indictment of New York Lawyer Normal Letitia James is a part of Donald Trump’s corrupt weaponization of the legal justice system towards anybody who has sought to carry him accountable.
Lawyer Normal James has courageously been on the forefront of efficiently difficult the Trump administration’s lawless and deeply unpopular overreach. Always, she has adopted the details, utilized the regulation and been guided by the Structure.
The malicious prosecution of Lawyer Normal James has no reputable foundation in regulation or reality, was introduced by a corrupt political hack and won’t survive scrutiny in a Courtroom of Regulation.
Donald Trump continues to shame the presidency and the Division of Justice. These sycophants who assist and abet the President’s vengeful schemes will be unable to cover from the intense authorized penalties of their habits. They are going to be held accountable.
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A US federal choose in Chicago briefly blocked the Trump administration’s deployment of federalized Nationwide Guard troops within the state on Thursday in response to a lawsuit filed by the Illinois lawyer normal, Reuters stories.
We’re nonetheless ready on the total particulars of that order.
From the courtroom in Chicago, an area federal courts reporter for the Chicago Solar-Occasions, Jon Seidel, highlighted a few of Decide April Perry’s feedback concerning the order.
Perry mentioned that the Division of Homeland Safety’s characterization of occasions in Chicago lacked credibility, and that “I’ve seen no credible proof that there’s hazard of revolt within the state of Illinois.”
Perry additionally famous that deploying Nationwide Guard troops from different states to Chicago to ostensibly make town safer had some apparent issues, and advised that native regulation enforcement had extra context for coping with group members in occasions of disaster that out of state troops would have.
“Chicago’s historical past of strained policing group relations is extraordinarily nicely documented, but in addition pretty nuanced,” Perry mentioned, per Seidel’s reporting. “It’s one thing I feel state and native authorities perceive extraordinarily nicely, and it may be laborious for federal authorities, and definitely these from Texas, to understand.”
Chicago’s historical past of utilizing violent policing techniques on Black residents is intensive, and contains landmark 2015 laws creating reparations for many years of torture by former Chicago police commander Jon Burge.
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Federal choose says she’s going to block the deployment of Nationwide Guard in Illinois, for now
In a courtroom in Chicago, federal choose April Perry simply mentioned she is issuing an order that the Trump administration is “briefly enjoined from ordering the federalization and deployment of the Nationwide Guard of america inside Illinois,” the Chicago Solar-Occasions’ Jon Seidel stories, with Reuters confirming.
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Up to date at 18.34 EDT
A federal choose’s ruling in Illinois, the place the state is searching for a short lived restraining order to dam the Trump administration from sending within the Nationwide Guard, is hinging on a “credibility willpower,” with the choose stating that the Division of Homeland Safety’s “notion of occasions” have been “merely unreliable,” Jon Seidel of the Chicago Solar-Occasions stories from the courtroom.
“I merely can’t credit score [the Trump administration’s] declarations to the extent they contradict state and native regulation enforcement. … DHS’ notion of occasions are merely unreliable,” US district choose April Perry mentioned, per Seidel’s reporting.
Seidel additionally stories that the choose cited a number of different authorized choices previously 48 hours, which, she mentioned, “all solid important doubt on DHS’ credibility and evaluation of what’s taking place on the streets of Chicago.”
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We’re nonetheless ready on the small print, however native journalists in Illinois are reporting that US district Decide April Perry is granting “partly” Illinois’ request for a short lived restraining order to halt the Trump administration’s deployment of Nationwide Guard troops into the state.
Jon Seidel, the federal courts reporter for the Chicago Solar-Occasions, has some key factors from the choose’s feedback, although he additionally notes on social media that “We nonetheless don’t know the small print of her order. She mentioned she’s granting the state’s request ‘partly,’ which signifies some a part of it’s also being denied. Keep tuned.”
One of many choose’s key traces thus far, Seidel and othere report: “I’ve seen no credible proof that there’s hazard of revolt within the state of Illinois.”
Seidel reported about ten minutes in the past that the choose “simply handed a draft of her order to each side and left the bench. She’s letting them have a look at it till she returns.”
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Up to date at 18.19 EDT
New York governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, has additionally made a press release in help of New York lawyer normal Letitia James, accusing Trump of weaponizing his Justice Division who “punish those that maintain the highly effective accountable.”
New Yorkers know @NewYorkStateAG James for her integrity, her independence, and her relentless combat for justice.
What we’re seeing immediately is nothing lower than the weaponization of the Justice Division to punish those that maintain the highly effective accountable.
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) October 9, 2025
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ACLU calls indictment towards Letitia James ‘brazen abuse of energy’ by Trump
The American Civil Liberties Union is looking the Trump Justice Division’s indictment of New York lawyer normal Letitia James “the most recent in a protracted record of brazen abuses of energy by President Trump” and a “gorgeous violation.”
“He has continued to weaponize our nation’s judicial system to settle private vendettas, assault his political opponents, and silence his critics,” the ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union mentioned in a press release.
“President Trump’s open interference within the Division of Justice’s investigation – demanding expenses, forcing out the prosecutor, and putting in a loyalist – is a surprising violation of our nation’s lengthy custom of an unbiased judicial system. The indictment of Letitia James makes it clearer than ever that President Trump has prioritized retaliation over the rule of regulation.
“Whether or not it’s focusing on Jimmy Kimmel, James Comey, Letitia James, or the hundreds of thousands of on a regular basis individuals exercising their rights to free speech, this administration’s efforts to prosecute, bully, and intimidate will solely strengthen the Individuals’s resolve to train our freedoms and defend our democracy.”
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Up to date at 18.55 EDT
NY AG Letitia James on her indictment: a ‘determined weaponization of our justice system’
New York state lawyer normal Letitia James despatched out this assertion on the information that she has been indicted by a federal grand jury for financial institution fraud after one among Trump’s US attorneys, Lindsey Halligan, personally introduced the case to the grand jury.
She additionally posted a video of her assertion on X:
That is nothing greater than a continuation of the president’s determined weaponization of our justice system.
I’m not fearful — I’m fearless.
We’ll combat these baseless expenses aggressively, and my workplace will proceed to fiercely defend New Yorkers and their rights. pic.twitter.com/X9U0EsHuGM
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) October 9, 2025
“That is nothing greater than a continuation of the president’s determined weaponization of our justice system. He’s forcing federal regulation enforcement companies to do his bidding, all as a result of I did my job because the New York State Lawyer Normal.
“These expenses are baseless, and the president’s personal public statements clarify that his solely objective is political retribution at any price. The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of each events.
“His choice to fireside a United States Lawyer who refused to carry expenses towards me – and change them with somebody who’s blindly loyal to not the regulation, however to the president – is antithetical to the bedrock rules of our nation. That is the time for leaders on each side of the aisle to talk out towards this blatant perversion of our system of justice.
“I stand strongly behind my workplace’s litigation towards the Trump Group. We performed a two-year investigation primarily based on the details and proof – not politics. Judges have upheld the trial courtroom’s discovering that Donald Trump, his firm, and his two sons are chargeable for fraud.
“I’m a proud lady of religion, and I do know that religion and concern can’t share the identical area. And so immediately I’m not fearful, I’m fearless, and as my religion teaches me, no weapon fashioned towards me shall prosper. We’ll combat these baseless expenses aggressively, and my workplace will proceed to fiercely defend New Yorkers and their rights. And I’ll proceed to do my job.”
Share
Up to date at 17.43 EDT
