On Thursday, Letitia James, New York’s Attorney General, was standing by for the grand jury to convene. Instead, they decided not to indict her on the two counts of bank fraud and one count of making a false statement to a financial institution. These charges were related to a mortgage she applied for a home in Norfolk, Virginia that she purchased in 2020. The decision by the grand jury came less than two weeks after a U.S. District Court Judge threw out a similar lawsuit against James. The judge dismissed the case, citing those unlawful actions by the prosecutor as basis for dismissal.
Yet James purportedly obtained a loan on much better terms. She said that the house would be her second home. Yet, despite being designated the property’s caretaker, she quickly rented out the property to others and made no real attempt to use it for her own needs. James has always maintained her innocence, claiming that she had engaged in no wrongdoing in the transaction.
In her defense, James mounted a vigorous attack on the charges. She argued that Lindsey Halligan, the prosecutor, was illegally installed as the U.S. Attorney for her district, the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan was the one who first pitched the case to the grand jury that eventually indicted James. The court’s ruling struck a blow for James, her lawyers and the cause of civil justice. Attorney Abbe Lowell rejoiced, saying, “This should be the final chapter in this case.”
Paperwork reveals consistent correspondence between James and her mortgage loan officer. 16 First, they agreed that she had no intention of making the Norfolk residence her primary residence. James’s niece, who moved into the house many years ago, has been living there rent free. She has allegedly testified about it to a federal grand jury earlier this year.
The fiscal cost of the mortgage deal was too extreme. By securing a lower interest rate under the pretext of the home being a second residence, James saved approximately $18,933 over the life of the loan.
The grand jury’s rejection of the charges against James has raised questions about the integrity of the prosecution’s case. Lowell emphasized the implications of continuing with such actions: “If they continue, undeterred by a court ruling and a grand jury’s rejection of the charges, it will be a shocking assault on the rule of law and a devastating blow to the integrity of our justice system.”