Trump v. James: DOJ opens grand jury investigation into civil fraud case

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched a grand jury investigation against New York Attorney General Letitia James in a case that escalates tensions with President Donald Trump.

The investigation, which is in its early stages, is being conducted in Albany, New York and focuses on possible allegations of disenfranchisement related to the civil fraud lawsuit James filed against Trump. According to Fox News Digital, James' office received subpoenas this week for documents, including information tied to her case against the Trump Organization.

Separately, Attorney General Pam Bondi has authorized Special Prosecutor Ed Martin to investigate allegations of mortgage fraud involving both James and Democratic California Senator Adam Schiff. Along those lines, a grand jury in Virginia will examine the allegations against James, while another in Maryland will investigate those related to Schiff.

These allegations arose after a letter from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), led by William Pulte, who asked the DOJ to investigate James for allegedly falsifying mortgage documents to obtain more favorable loan terms.

James' litigation against Donald Trump

James, who took office in 2018, has been a central figure in litigation against Trump. In 2022, she led a civil lawsuit for corporate fraud against the Trump Organization, winning a $454 million judgment against then-ex-Republican president and some of his executives, including two of his sons. A New York judge found that Trump and his associates inflated their wealth to obtain favorable loans and financial benefits. James then asserted that financial fraud is not a victimless crime, noting that any citizen who submitted false documents would face severe consequences.

The attorney general has also actively challenged the policies of the second Trump Administration, participating in lawsuits against measures such as freezing funding for social programs, mass layoffs of federal employees, and restrictions on care for transgender minors. In response to the DOJ investigation, a spokesman for James called the action a “weaponization of the justice system,” defending his office's litigation against Trump and the National Rifle Association and pledging to continue protecting the rights of New Yorkers.

The investigation against James

The mortgage fraud investigation originated in April when the FHFA asked Bondi to investigate James for alleged irregularities in the purchase of a Virginia property and the reporting of habitable units in a multifamily housing unit in Brooklyn. James, for her part, has adamantly denied these allegations, and her lawyer, Abbe Lowell, described any errors in the documents as a "clerical error" in the letter to Bondi, calling the investigation political retaliation.

Meanwhile, Trump has stepped up his criticism of James, calling her a "totally corrupt politician" on his Truth Social platform, and demanded her immediate resignation as New York attorney general.