Letitia James: ‘I will not bow. I will not break’
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) vowed Monday to fight the federal bank fraud charges filed against her by a Trump-appointed prosecutor, arguing they are politically motivated.
“I stand on sold rock and I will not bow, I will not break, I will not bend,” James said at a rally for New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (D), according to NewsNation, The Hill’s sister company.
Without naming President Trump directly, James said “powerful voices” are “trying to punish speaking the truth” and “weaponizing justice for political gain.”
James was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia on charges of bank fraud and lying to a financial institution on Thursday. The charges stem from the Federal Housing Finance Agency alleging in April that James claimed a Virginia home as her primary residence while holding public office in New York.
In a statement after being indicted, James called the charges “baseless” and said they are part of the president seeking “political retribution at any cost.”
James filed a civil fraud case against the Trump organization in 2022, accusing the president of inflating his net worth for tax and insurance purposes.
Trump and other defendants were found liable, with a New York state judge ordering them to pay over $464 million in penalties, plus interest, in February 2024. That included over $454 million for Trump and over $4 million for his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric. In August, a New York appeals court voided the penalty, which had increased to over $527 million with interest, but elected not to toss the entire judgement.
Trump, his sons and James appealed the August ruling.
Last month, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, resigned amid pressure from the administration to launch a probe into James. Trump nominated White House aide Lindsey Halligan to the post days later.
After Siebert resigned and before nominating Halligan, Trump also pushed for Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute James in a post on his Truth Social platform. The post was reportedly intended to be a direct message to Bondi.
The Trump Justice Department also recently won the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, another political figure seen as an enemy of Trump.