Grand Jury Refuses To Indict Letitia James In Another Blow To DOJ’s Effort To Revive Case

The Justice Department’s mortgage fraud case against New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James was dealt another blow on Thursday when a grand jury in Virginia declined to indict her, according to multiple reports.

After prosecutors presented evidence before a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, on Thursday, the jury refused to sign off on an indictment. Abbe Lowell, a lawyer for James, said that the grand jury’s decision “makes even clearer that this case should never have seen the light of day.”

James has argued that the Justice Department’s case against her is “retribution” for her civil fraud case against President Donald Trump and his company. James was indicted by a federal grand jury in October on felony charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, but the case against her hit a roadblock last month when a federal judge dismissed it and threw out the initial indictment after finding that the Trump-appointed prosecutor overseeing the case was unlawfully appointed.

The federal grand jury’s rejection on Thursday is the second time the Justice Department has been rebuffed after accusing James of fraudulently claiming a house in Virginia as her primary home in 2023 while serving as New York’s attorney general. Last week, after the Justice Department refiled the case against James, a grand jury declined to indict her.

Christmas Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships

The mortgage fraud allegations against James stem from her purchase of a three-bedroom home in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020. James secured favorable loan terms by claiming that the house was her secondary residence, according to the indictment. However, the indictment states that James did not use the house as a residence, instead renting it out to a family, The Wall Street Journal reported. James allegedly saved nearly $19,000 from the favorable loan rates.

The Justice Department could attempt to indict James again, but with a second grand jury rejection, a judge could be skeptical of another push by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to bring a case against James.

Charges against former FBI Director James Comey were also tossed after the federal judge found that President Donald Trump’s appointment of Lindsey Halligan as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was unlawful. The Justice Department could also refile charges against Comey after accusing him of giving false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding. The charges stemmed from testimony Comey delivered to Congress in 2020 on his handling of the FBI investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.