New York Attorney General Letitia James pleads not guilty in mortgage fraud case pushed by Trump

NORFOLK Va AP New York Attorney General Letitia James accused the Trump administration of using the justice system as a tool of revenge after she pleaded not guilty Friday in a federal mortgage fraud circumstance the president pressed the Justice Department to bring James first court appearance in Virginia sets the stage for a high-stakes legal battle between the Republican administration and a Democratic longtime Trump foe who angered him with a major civil fraud matter she brought against him She s accused of lying on mortgage papers to get favorable loan terms when purchasing a modest house in Norfolk where she has family James is the third Trump adversary to appear before a judge this month on federal charges amplifying concerns that the president is using the ruling body s law enforcement powers to seek retribution for his own legal troubles Justice Department leaders have defended the cases and argue the Biden administration which brought two indictments against him was the one that weaponized the justice system James left the courthouse grinning to cheers from dozens of waiting supporters who chanted We stand with Tish The indictment charging her with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution she declared was about a justice system which has been used as a tool of revenge and a weapon against those individuals who only did their job and who stood up for the rule of law My faith is strong and I have this belief in the justice system and the rule of law and I have a belief in America James revealed adding There s no fear currently The judge set a trial date for Jan James attorney Abbe Lowell advised the judge the defense will seek to have the affair dismissed arguing that it s a vindictive prosecution brought at the direction of the president James was indicted this month after the top federal prosecutor who had been overseeing the research was pushed out by the Trump administration and the president publicly called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against James and other political foes Prosecutors allege that when buying the Norfolk home in James signed a standard document called a second home rider in which she agreed to keep the property primarily for her personal use and enjoyment for at least one year unless the lender agreed otherwise Rather than using the home as a second residence the indictment alleges James rented it out to a family of three According to the indictment the misrepresentation allowed James to obtain favorable loan terms not available for outlay properties James was first elected in as New York state s top lawyer after holding elected jobs in New York City She is the first woman elected as the state s attorney general James has been a frequent target of Trump s ire especially since she won a staggering judgment against the president and his companies in a lawsuit alleging he defrauded banks by overstating the value of his real estate holdings on financial statements An appeals court overturned the fine which had ballooned to more than million with interest but upheld a lower court s finding that Trump had committed fraud James indictment followed the resignation of Erik Siebert as U S attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia amid pressure from Trump administration personnel to bring a event Siebert was replaced with Lindsey Halligan a White House aide and former Trump lawyer who had never previously served as a federal prosecutor and presented James situation to the grand jury herself After Siebert s resignation Trump in an extraordinary social media post urged Bondi to prosecute James and other political foes noting that he had been impeached and indicted himself multiple times Trump wrote the administration can t delay any longer it s killing our reputation and credibility adding JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED NOW Defense lawyers have stated they intend to challenge Halligan s appointment a step also taken this week by attorneys for former FBI Director James Comey in a different scenario filed by Halligan Comey has been charged with lying to Congress in a criminal occurrence filed days after Trump appeared to urge his attorney general to prosecute him and he has pleaded not guilty James lawyers have also sought for an order prohibiting prosecutors from disclosing to the news media information about the inspection or materials from the incident outside of court The motion followed the revelation from earlier this week that Halligan contacted via an encrypted text messaging platform a reporter from Lawfare a media organization that covers legal and national measure issues to discuss the James prosecution and complain about coverage of it The reporter published the exchange that she and Halligan had A third Trump adversary former national safety adviser John Bolton pleaded not guilty last week to charges against him of emailing classified information to family members and keeping top secret documents at his Maryland home The Justice Department has also been scrutinizing mortgage fraud charges against Democratic Sen Adam Schiff of California whom Trump has called to be prosecuted over charges related to a property in Maryland In a separate mortgage assessment executives have been probing accusations against Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook who is challenging a Trump administration effort to remove her from her job Schiff and Cook have denied wrongdoing Richer released from Washington and Peltz stated from New York Associated Press reporter Eric Tucker in Washington contributed Source