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New York Lawyer Basic Letitia James will seem in federal court docket in Norfolk, Virginia, Friday morning to be arraigned on a two-count indictment stemming from statements she allegedly made in regards to the nature of a second dwelling she bought in 2020.
James’s arraignment is the most recent in a string of prosecutions introduced towards the president’s perceived political foes, regardless of objections from profession prosecutors — a few of whom have since been fired or resigned.
James was indicted on two federal counts of financial institution fraud and making false statements to a monetary establishment.
The indictment stems from her 2020 buy of a house in Norfolk, Virginia, the place prosecutors allege that she misled a financial institution in regards to the nature of the residence with the intention to receive extra favorable mortgage situations.
James, for her half, has vehemently denied wrongdoing, and is predicted to plead not responsible.
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President Donald Trump walks with Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi throughout a go to to the Justice Division March 14, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photograph by Andrew Harnik/Getty Pictures) (Andrew Harnik/Getty Pictures)
“That is nothing greater than a continuation of the president’s determined weaponization of our justice system,” James stated in a press release after she was indicted.
“These fees are baseless, and the president’s personal public statements clarify that his solely objective is political retribution at any value,” she added.
Her indictment, just like the indictment of FBI director James Comey, was introduced to a grand jury by former White Home aide Lindsey Halligan, whom Trump put in because the appearing U.S. legal professional for the Japanese District of Virginia final month.
Trump, in September, stated he would set up Halligan as the highest prosecutor for the Japanese District of Virginia, changing interim legal professional Erik Siebert, who resigned below strain to indict each Comey and James.
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New York Lawyer Basic Letitia James speaks throughout a press convention, Sept. 21, 2022, in New York. (AP Photograph/Brittainy Newman, File)
James’s indictment, like Comey’s, has touched off intense backlash and considerations of weaponization inside the Justice Division’s ranks throughout Trump’s second presidential time period.
Each instances have each sparked the resignations or firings of a number of profession officers within the Japanese District of Virginia, together with within the Norfolk workplace, the place two assistant U.S. attorneys have been fired for reportedly voicing opposition to bringing James’s case.
Halligan will probably be joined in court docket Friday by a Missouri-based federal prosecutor, Roger Keller, in response to court docket filings.
James’s protection legal professional, Abbe Lowell, instructed the court docket they’ve retained the providers of Andrew Bosse, a former assistant U.S. legal professional primarily based in Norfolk who previously headed up the workplace’s legal division.
The case towards James comes after she efficiently introduced a civil fraud case towards President Donald Trump final 12 months.
After the arraignment, it’s doubtless that she’s going to file a movement to dismiss her case for vindictive and selective prosecution, following related steps taken by Comey’s authorized workforce in Alexandria earlier this week.
Lowell, her legal professional, has described the case towards her as “improper political retribution,” and vowed they might “combat these fees in each course of allowed within the legislation.”
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The Justice Division didn’t instantly reply to Fox Information’s request for touch upon the case, or whether or not Halligan or Keller would be joined by every other federal prosecutors within the Japanese District of Virginia.
