Letitia James insists on dismissing charges against her in response to "scandalous conduct" by the Trump admin
James alleged that the charges were the product of
Lawyers for New York Attorney General Letitia James accused the Trump administration of "scandalous government conduct," arguing that the fraud charges against her were "manifestly unconstitutional" and were intended to punish James for her opposition to President Trump.
James asked a judge to dismiss her indictment with prejudice, meaning she could not rejoin the case. She was indicted in October on bank fraud charges. Prosecutors accuse her of buying a house in Virginia and falsely declaring it a second home instead of a rental property to obtain a lower interest rate.
In a 22-page lawsuit filed Monday, James alleged the charges were the product of “months of illegal and unethical behavior” by Fair Housing Finance Authority (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte, senior Justice Department official Ed Martin, and Acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan.
“If this blatant and continued disregard for the law and the Constitution is not outrageous government conduct, then nothing is,” James’s lawyers wrote. They called her indictment a violation of the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees the right to due process. process.
The case was opened just after Pulte, who heads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, sent the department a criminal complaint, and Attorney General Pam Bondi assigned pardons lawyer and housing instrumentalization czar Ed Martin to assist with the investigation as a special assistant to the U.S. Attorney handling mortgage fraud cases involving public officials.
Subsequently, Trump appointed his former personal lawyer, Lindsey Halligan, as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to file the formal indictment, after his predecessor declined to do so, citing a lack of evidence.
In the lawsuit filed,James's lawyers questioned how Pulte gained access to their client's confidential mortgage files. They pointed out that Pulte also sent Halligan a private letter on October 6, summarizing the financial information and calculations for the property at the center of the accusation, as well as information from Fannie Mae's financial crimes investigation team.