A grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday refused to indict New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who is suspected of bank fraud and making false statements, AFP reported, writes TASR.
- Grand jury rejects Letitia James indictment in fraud case.
- The judge called the appointment of prosecutor Halligan illegal.
- Prosecutor James wins fraud case against Trump.
The failure of federal prosecutors to indict James comes less than two weeks after the original case against her was dismissed.
“As I’ve said from the beginning, these allegations are baseless,” James said, adding that “it’s time to end this abuse of our justice system.”
The Trump administration is responding
The Trump administration now has two options: It can appeal the judge’s decision or take the case to another grand jury.
U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the case against James — and another against former FBI chief James Comey — on the grounds that US President Donald Trump’s handpicked prosecutor Lindsey Halligan, who brought the indictment, was illegally appointed.
James, 67, a Democrat who successfully prosecuted Trump for fraud, was indicted in October on one count of bank fraud and another count of making false statements to a financial institution.
Comey (64) was charged in September with making false statements to Congress and obstructing congressional proceedings.
Political retaliation
Both cases were widely seen as Trump’s retaliation against his political opponents.
The attempted indictment of Comey and James was preceded by the resignation of the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, who reportedly warned Justice Department officials that there was insufficient evidence to indict.
Attorney General Pam Bondi subsequently replaced Siebert with Lindsey Halligan, who is Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer and who secured the indictments. As a lawyer, Halliganová specialized in insurance cases and has no previous experience as a prosecutor.
However, Judge Currie pointed out that Halligan was appointed illegally, because her predecessor also served as a prosecutor only temporarily. American law does not allow for two consecutive temporary prosecutors.
Civil dispute with Trump
After Trump left the White House in 2021, James won a civil fraud case alleging that Trump and his real estate company illegally inflated the value of his property and manipulated property prices to obtain favorable bank loans or insurance terms.
Comey was appointed to head the FBI by President Barack Obama in 2013 and was fired by Trump in 2017 amid an investigation into alleged collusion by Trump campaign staff with Moscow and influence in the 2016 election.
Pressure on the Ministry of Justice
The accusations against Comey came just days after Trump publicly called on Bondi to crack down on the former FBI director and others she considers her enemies. According to AFP, this is a “stunning departure” from the principle that the Justice Department should operate without pressure from the White House.
