Mortgage fraud indictment against Letitia James rejected by grand jury
James denied any wrongdoing and accused the Trump administration of using the justice system to seek revenge on political opponents
A new attempt by the Justice Department to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James has failed, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The decision was made after a judge previously threw out a mortgage fraud case that had been encouraged by President Donald Trump.
Prosecutors had returned to a grand jury in Virginia on Thursday, seeking a new indictment against Ms James.
This move came after a judge halted the initial prosecution of both Ms James and James Comey, the former FBI Director and a long-standing critic of Mr Trump.
“As I've said from the start, these charges are baseless,” James said Thursday evening in a post on X.
“It's time for the weaponization of our justice system to stop. I'm grateful to the members of the grand jury and humbled by the support I've received across the nation. I will keep doing my job standing up for New Yorkers.”
The judge’s decision was based on the grounds that the US attorney who presented those cases had been illegally appointed.
The Justice Department retains the option to present the case to the grand jury once more.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
James was initially charged in October by the U.S. attorney installed by the Trump administration to replace the prosecutor who resigned under pressure to bring criminal cases against herself and Comey.
James denied any wrongdoing and accused the administration of using the justice system to seek revenge against Trump's political opponents.