{"id":16435,"date":"2025-10-10T21:51:46","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T21:51:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=16435"},"modified":"2025-10-10T21:51:46","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T21:51:46","slug":"big-update-after-doj-charges-james-with-bank-fraud-false-statements-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/?p=16435","title":{"rendered":"Big Update After DOJ Charges James With Bank Fraud, False Statements"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New York Attorney General Letitia James \u2014 the Democrat who made her name by taking on former President Donald Trump \u2014 was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Virginia on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.<\/p>\n

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The indictment alleges that James falsely claimed a Norfolk, Virginia home was her second residence to qualify for favorable mortgage terms, while actually renting the property to a family. Prosecutors say the alleged misrepresentation saved her nearly $19,000, NBC News\u00a0reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If convicted, James could face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each count.<\/p>\n

James, who led the high-profile civil fraud case that resulted in a $500 million judgment against Trump before an appeals court later threw it out, blasted the charges as \u201cbaseless\u201d and politically motivated.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThese charges are baseless, and the president\u2019s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,\u201d she said in a statement and accompanying video on X. \u201cThe president\u2019s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order.\u201d<\/p>\n

The case was brought by Acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan \u2014 a longtime Trump attorney who was installed last month after the previous U.S. attorney, Erik Siebert, reportedly resisted bringing charges and resigned under pressure. Halligan, who has no prior prosecutorial experience, personally presented the case to the grand jury, a break from Justice Department norms.<\/p>\n

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Halligan defended the charges in a statement Thursday, saying the allegations represent \u201cintentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public\u2019s trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

James\u2019 attorney, Abbe Lowell, fired back, accusing the administration of using the Justice Department as a political weapon.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a president can publicly direct charges to be filed against someone \u2014 when career attorneys reportedly concluded none were warranted \u2014 it marks a serious attack on the rule of law,\u201d Lowell said. \u201cWe will fight these charges in every way the law allows.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Her first court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 24 in Norfolk before U.S. District Judge Jamar K. Walker, a Biden appointee.<\/p>\n

The White House declined to comment.<\/p>\n

Trump, meanwhile, celebrated the indictment online, repeating his frequent claim that his opponents \u201cmust face justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the latest in a string of prosecutions targeting Trump\u2019s political adversaries. Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted in September on charges of lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding \u2014 another case presented by Halligan.<\/p>\n

Democrats swiftly condemned James\u2019 indictment as a dangerous politicization of the Justice Department.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t justice. It\u2019s revenge,\u201d Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement. \u201cAnd it should horrify every American who believes no one is above the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul echoed that sentiment, writing on X that Americans are witnessing \u201cnothing less than the weaponization of the Justice Department to punish those who hold the powerful accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republicans largely defended the move. Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said Trump \u201ccan\u2019t make a grand jury do anything,\u201d while Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri called the charges \u201caccountability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who has often been critical of Trump, said he hoped prosecutors \u201cdid their homework and have a valid basis for the indictment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Legal experts note that while the standard for indictment \u2014 probable cause \u2014 is relatively low, securing a conviction would require proving beyond a reasonable doubt that James knowingly made false statements with intent to defraud.<\/p>\n

The political stakes are enormous. The prosecution of one of Trump\u2019s fiercest critics comes as his administration faces growing scrutiny for its pattern of pursuing former officials and political opponents, a practice his allies defend as \u201cequal justice\u201d and his critics call an unprecedented abuse of power.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Getty Images This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion. New York Attorney General Letitia James \u2014 the Democrat who made her name by taking on former President … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16435"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16436,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16435\/revisions\/16436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/16433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cndailynews.store\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}