New York Attorney General Letitia James is scheduled to appear in Norfolk, Virginia, federal court Friday morning for an arraignment on a two-count indictment related to claims about a second home purchase in 2020.
James’s arraignment is the most recent in a series of prosecutions against the president’s perceived political adversaries, despite reservations from experienced prosecutors, some of whom have since been terminated or quit.
James faces two federal charges: bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
The indictment centers on her 2020 acquisition of a Norfolk, Virginia, property, where prosecutors allege she misrepresented the nature of the residence to a bank to secure more advantageous loan terms.
James has strongly denied any wrongdoing and is expected to enter a not guilty plea.
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“This represents merely the continuation of the president’s blatant manipulation of our justice system,” James stated after the indictment.
“These charges are without merit, and the president’s own public declarations reveal that his sole aim is political vengeance at any cost,” she added.
Like the indictment of FBI director James Comey, her indictment was presented to a grand jury by Lindsey Halligan, a former White House aide whom Trump appointed as the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last month.
In September, Trump announced Halligan’s appointment as the chief prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, succeeding interim attorney Erik Siebert, who reportedly resigned under pressure to indict both Comey and James.
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James’s indictment, similar to Comey’s, has triggered strong condemnation and concerns about the misuse of power within the Justice Department during Trump’s second presidential term.
Both cases have led to resignations or dismissals of several career officials in the Eastern District of Virginia, including in the Norfolk office, where two assistant U.S. attorneys were dismissed for reportedly expressing disagreement with pursuing James’s case.
Halligan will be accompanied in court Friday by Roger Keller, a federal prosecutor from Missouri, according to court documents.
James’s defense lawyer, Abbe Lowell, informed the court that they have enlisted the services of Andrew Bosse, a former assistant U.S. attorney based in Norfolk who previously led the office’s criminal division.
The case against James follows her successful civil fraud lawsuit against President Donald Trump last year.
Following the arraignment, she is expected to file a motion to dismiss her case on the grounds of vindictive and selective prosecution, mirroring actions taken by Comey’s legal team in Alexandria earlier in the week.
Lowell, her attorney, has characterized the case against her as “inappropriate political retaliation” and pledged to “contest these charges through every legal avenue available.”
The Justice Department has not yet responded to Fox News’s request for comment on the case, or regarding whether Halligan or Keller will be joined by additional federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia.
