Letitia James: justice and poetic justice
Letitia James campaigned for her New York AG job by vowing to get Trump – for what, she didn’t yet know. But like Beria, she would find the offense, charge him with it, and convict him.
She succeeded in all those things. She was elected. She found a supposed offense, although Trump’s record was so relatively clean that she had to apply a law to a real estate valuation situation that hadn’t hurt anyone, and to a practice that was actually standard in the business. The law had never been applied to anyone in the way she applied it to Trump, but in the very anti-Trump venue in which the case was tried, she won.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the 2024 election: Trump became president-elect. Oops! And then the MSM began to bleat about how bent on “revenge” he would be.
One might expect that during this whole escapade Letitia James would have made sure her own personal behavior was squeaky-clean. But then, one would have expected the same of Fani Willis under similar circumstances. But one would have been wrong.
Now we see that that James has been referred to the DOJ to possibly be charged with, of all things, real estate fraud and in particular mortgage fraud. And this appears to be a much more straightforward case of actual fraud:
Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte sent the missive to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy AG Todd Blanche, alleging that James had “falsified records” to get home loans for a property in Virginia that she claimed was her “principal residence” in 2023 — while still serving as a New York state prosecutor.
That occurred in late August 2023, weeks before James began her civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization for overinflating the values of many of its properties, which ended in a $454 million judgment.
“Ms. James was the sitting Attorney General of New York and is required by law to have her primary residence in the state of New York — even though her mortgage applications list her intent to have the Norfolk, VA, property as her primary home,” the letter stated.
“It appears Ms. James’ property and mortgage-related misrepresentations may have continued to her recent 2023 Norfolk, VA property purchase in order to secure a lower interest rate and more favorable loan terms.” …
In February 2001, James also purchased a five-family dwelling in Brooklyn — but has “consistently misrepresented the same property as only having four units in both building permit applications and numerous mortgage documents and applications,” the letter noted.
That last bit would have gotten her more favorable loan terms as well. There’s also an application on which she lists her father as her husband – yes, which would have gotten more favorable terms as well (James is single). These certainly are credible evidence of straight-up mortgage fraud, no law-twisting needed.
There could be statute of limitations issues, though James herself showed such such statutory periods can be stretched. James has issued a statement of defiance and suggests that this is lawfare or bullying by the Trump Administration. …
Notably, the Justice Department has prosecuted those who have committed this common fraud.
For example, in 2017, it charged a man in Puerto Rico with false statements on a reverse mortgage loan application in which he falsely claimed the property as his principal residence.
It emphasized that “mortgage lenders provide capital so people can purchase homes, not enrich themselves illegally.”
There are other such cases under 18 U.S.C. 1014 and related laws.
James could claim that these representations were made by a third party acting on her behalf.
However, that is precisely the argument that she repeatedly rejected in the Trump case, insisting that he was legally obligated to review all filings made in his name or that of his companies.
This potential prosecution seems to me to be both justice and also poetic justice. And yes, it also serves as revenge, but it doesn’t consist of cooked-up lawfare with ridiculous claims. Let’s see how it plays out, which depends in large part on the federal venue chosen.
Wny was James so careless or reckless, despite knowing she was about to try to bring down the leading GOP candidate? My guess is that she was accustomed to being untouchable legally, and certainly never thought Trump would end up as president. “When you strike at a king, you must kill him” is a famous quote attributed (perhaps falsely) to Emerson. James thought she had killed the king, but it turned out it wasn’t checkmate.
She had another layer of untouchability (permission to use without attribution) in that she is not a straight, white, Christian male.
Race card shows up in…..5..4…3…
Something about glass houses and stones comes to mind.
The closest this woman has come since age 28 to being held accountable for anything was the failure of her legal career, and, prior to that, the multiple attempts she required to pass the New York Bar. In re all that, we can infer that she has some capacity to rationalize, even if her intramural babble would not, in cold print, persuade anyone other than her. She’s a cr!p lawyer with no discernible integrity or decency. There is stupefyingly little resistance to her in New York’s electorate.
Just another Democratic Party operator who believes she’s above the law.
What’s that ye say? She’s one of the country’s most powerful Attorneys General?
(Why, of course she is…!)
Um, hold on. Do I sense a pattern here “that dare not speak its name”????
Hey, maybe there’s a pardon out there somewhere—a cardboard box in Decent Joe’s garage?—that can be granted/generated/automatically signed retroactively.
(Or maybe the automatic pen ran out of ink?)
File under: If you don’t pardon in advance every single corrupt AG, then you ain’t Black…
AD, she’s considered a genuine hero in NY for “standing up” to Trump.
Which is why this charge will be considered to be totally political by all the usual suspects and will be portrayed as such by the Mainstream Corrupt Media in day-glow rainbow colors.
With sparkles.
As for poetic justice, Letitia, we won’t miss ya’….
When you come for the King you best not miss.
C. Barkley
The latest example of being hoisted on your own petard. Consequence: Prosecution to the fullest extent of the law with extreme prejudice.
The fraud was identified by some journalists and then the government followed up on the issue. So, I would discount the revenge factor.
If the government did not look into the matter, then there could be charges of not being fair in prosecution.
Liz, you’re making sense. You’re not allowed to make sense. The Party forbids it.
I would imagine there will be more than one republican figure who implores us to “not retaliate” and that a prosecution would be “a distraction” from the country’s healing process.
Geoffrey Britain, I don’t really think hoist by one’s own petard applies as James’ crimes have nothing to do with Trump unlike that Fanny idiot.
@ Chases Eagles – I interpreted the “petard” to be that her crimes were also related to mortgages and real estate, as she charged with Trump. So not directly related to him, but similar.
In poetry, that would be a “slant rhyme” rather than a straight-forward one.
Poetic justice for the win.
https://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms/slant-rhyme
AesopFan, the term as used in Hamlet means the engineer is blown into the air by his own mine (the petard). The engineer in this reference is actively attacking enemy fortifications by mining. So to me, the term means self injured as a direct effect of the attack.
Mary Catelli on April 16, 2025 at 8:05 pm:
“You’re not allowed to make sense. The Party forbids it.”
That just depends on what kind of party you are talking about.
Yes, the pity party denies all culpability.
But the “let’s have some fun” party is all applause! 🙂
@ Chases Eagles > “So to me, the term means self injured as a direct effect of the attack.”
Fair enough.
Metaphors are always open to varying interpretations, but those aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.
Too bad, so sad
How dumb is James? She thinks that lenders do not check this stuff? She must think it’s still the early 2000s when Bush 43’s administration was encouraging loose lending standards and anybody with a pulse – including illegal aliens – could get a zero down, interest only loan. There was a reason they were jokingly referred to as “liar’s loans” and we all know how that turned out.
I think the application she filled out posing as her father’s wife carries a date of 1983 or thereabouts, so she won’t be prosecuted for that.
Art Deco:
So she’s been crooked since she was 25 years old (born 1958). Who says crime doesn’t pay?
“Who says…?”
I guess it would all depend on how one defines “crime”…
I’m pretty sure that No-Malarkey Joe is certain he’s an upstanding citizen and a terrific parent so you might wanna ask him…through an interpreter, of course.
On the other hand Stacey Abrams’d probably be pretty cagey. (But ye never know…she does seem to enjoy surprising people!)
“The Remarkable Rags-to-Riches Story of Stacey Abrams”—
https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2025/04/16/the_remarkable_rags-to-riches_story_of_stacey_abrams_1103954.html
H/T Powerline blog.
Sweet! She deserves an orange jumpsuit and tepid bologna sandwiches (if not worse).