Charges Against New York Attorney General Letitia James
On Thursday, Fox News legal analyst Greg Jarrett discussed how New York’s Democratic Attorney General, Letitia James, found herself facing legal challenges. A federal grand jury in Virginia delivered the charges after Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Harrigan pursued the case. Jarrett, appearing on “Hannity,” noted that James was essentially being judged by her own legal standards, which stemmed from allegations that she misrepresented a Virginia property as her primary residence to secure favorable mortgage rates.
“If the accusations hold any weight, that’s not much of a defense,” Jarrett remarked. “She might argue it’s a misunderstanding or blame someone else, but she set the standards herself in the Trump case. Shakespeare might say she’s being trapped by her own criteria,” he added during the discussion with host Sean Hannity.
Jarrett emphasized that the case is directly tied to paperwork that James personally signed.
“Sean, this is a significant issue for her. You can’t claim a home is occupied for a lower mortgage rate and then rent it out. That’s misleading and amounts to defrauding the lender. The documents indicated she occupied the property, while on IRS filings, she stated it was only a rental,” Jarrett explained.
He further asserted that James is now subject to the same legal scrutiny she used against others, presenting her actions as largely indefensible.
“It’s either one or the other. What she did is illegal. Unsurprisingly, her response has been to complain about the law being weaponized against her. It’s disingenuous. She campaigned with the intention of pursuing Trump, and her case was unceremoniously dismissed by the Court of Appeals,” Jarrett noted. “I suspect she’ll follow the path of others in similar circumstances, claiming selective prosecution while trying to get the case dismissed and avoid a trial entirely. However, according to the law, it’s her responsibility to clearly establish that there was an ulterior motive behind these charges.”
James has pledged to counter the allegations, which she deems as a politically charged assault by President Donald Trump. She expressed that her faith empowers her to face these challenges and affirmed her commitment to continue serving as New York’s attorney general.
In September, President Trump nominated Harrigan to lead the Virginia attorney’s office after Eric Siebert resigned, reportedly under pressure to prosecute. Just two weeks prior to Harrigan’s appointment, a grand jury in the same jurisdiction indicted former FBI Director James Comey for lying to Congress and obstructing an investigation.
Earlier this year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency referred James to the Department of Justice for allegedly providing false information on mortgage documents. FHFA Director William Pulte claimed that James misrepresented her Virginia property as her residence to obtain lower mortgage rates, despite state law requiring her to reside in New York as the attorney general.
James is also involved in a high-profile civil fraud suit against Trump, in which he has been accused of inflating his assets for favorable loans. That case fell apart in August, and the New York Court of Appeals overturned a $500 million civil fraud penalty she had won against Trump, labeling the amount as excessive.
