A federal grand jury in Virginia has indicted New York Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James on one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution.
In Virginia, a federal grand jury indicted Democratic New York State Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday, after one of Trump’s US attorneys, Lindsey Halligan, personally presented the case to the grand jury. James has been at odds with President Donald Trump. Her indictment on mortgage-related charges follows a case brought against the former F.B.I. director James Comey.
James denies wrongdoing and calls the indictment “baseless,” characterizing it as politically motivated retribution related to her previous litigation against Donald Trump.
“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system. I am not fearful — I am fearless,” James said in a video statement posted on X. “We will fight these baseless charges aggressively, and my office will continue to fiercely protect New Yorkers and their rights.”
The five-page indictment accused Ms. James of falsely claiming in loan documents that she would use a home she purchased in Norfolk, Va., as a secondary residence while allegedly using it as an investment property, thereby securing more favorable mortgage terms. Prosecutors estimate she saved roughly $18,933 over the life of the loan as a result of the alleged misrepresentation. The indictment was presented by Lindsey Halligan, newly appointed U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, who personally brought the case before the grand jury.
Read the full indictment below.
Tish James Indicted By Grand Jury O Bank Fraud Charges by BLACK WESTCHESTER MAGAZINE
Her legal team, led by Abbe Lowell, has pledged to vigorously contest the charges.
Several critics point to the timing and method of the indictment, noting that James has been a prominent adversary of Trump and has been involved in high-stakes civil suits against him, including New York State Democratic Committee Chairman Jay S. Jacobs.
“The indictment of Attorney General Tish James is nothing less than political retribution by a vindictive felon who happens to occupy the White House,” Jacobs shared with Black Westchester.
Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York who previously asked the state’s Supreme Court to investigate James for publishing a report claiming he sexually assaulted multiple women during his tenure, condemned James’s indictment as a manipulation of the law “to advance political agendas,” though he did not mention her by name in his statement. It was an investigation by James’s office that found that Cuomo had sexually harassed several women, a scandal that led to his resignation as governor in 2021.
Cuomo is now running for mayor of New York City, and James has opposed his candidacy. Cuomo said in his statement, “Whether it comes from the right or the left, from prosecutors or politicians, the politicization of law enforcement is dangerous and corrosive.”
Black Westchester has been covering this case since the allegations first surfaced.
James is scheduled to make her initial court appearance on October 24, 2025, in Norfolk, Virginia.
Note: An indictment is an accusation of a crime, and the defendant is legally presumed innocent until the government proves their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The indictment itself is not evidence and does not mean the defendant is guilty; rather, it is the formal statement of the charges against them.
