New York Attorney General Letitia James pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal mortgage fraud charges in a case that has intensified a long-running clash between her office and President Donald Trump.
Prosecutors allege she misrepresented the intended use of a Virginia home to obtain more favorable mortgage rates, a financial detail that sits at the center of the bank fraud indictment.
James was arraigned in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, where she was charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of making a false statement to a financial institution offenses that each carry a potential 30-year prison sentence.
When asked for her plea, James responded, “Not guilty, judge, to both counts.” Her trial is scheduled to begin on January 26.
The Department of Justice claims James stated she would use the property as a secondary residence but instead rented it out, which prosecutors say enabled her to secure better mortgage loan terms. The indictment was issued by a federal grand jury earlier this month.
Speaking to supporters after her arraignment, James argued that the charges stem from political motives tied to her criticism of President Trump. She told the crowd, “This is not about me. This is about all of us and a justice system which has been weaponised, a justice system that has been used as a tool for revenge.”
She later added, “There’s no fear today. No fear, no fear,” and said, “Because I believe that justice will rain down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
James is the third outspoken Trump critic to face federal charges in recent weeks, following indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and former national security adviser John Bolton. Tensions escalated in September when President Trump publicly urged the Justice Department to take action against multiple political opponents, including James.
The attorney general has a long history of legal conflict with Trump dating back to her 2018 campaign, during which she called him an “illegitimate president.” As New York’s top prosecutor, she later won a civil fraud case accusing Trump of inflating asset values to secure credit and investment.
The original $355 million penalty in that case was later vacated as excessive. Trump denies wrongdoing and says the cases against him are politically driven.
The Justice Department’s internal handling of the mortgage case has also drawn scrutiny. A career prosecutor, Erik Siebert, was dismissed after questioning the legal merits of the investigations into James and Comey.
He was replaced by Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump administration aide with no prior federal prosecutorial background. Halligan signed the indictments herself, an uncommon step for a senior DOJ official. James’s legal team has indicated it will challenge Halligan’s appointment.
James has called the current charges “nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponisation of our justice system.” She remains free pending trial.
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