A second grand jury has declined to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud.
The Justice Department alleges that James lied on a mortgage application related to a property she purchased in Virginia. However, each attempt to prosecute her has failed.
From CNN:
A grand jury, for a second time, declined to bring a new indictment against Letitia James, the New York attorney general who defeated President Donald Trump and his company in court, according to multiple sources.
The Justice Department presented its case against James to grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, Thursday — a week after a different grand jury in Norfolk declined to bring charges.
A spokesperson for James’ legal team declined to comment Thursday.
The quick move by the Justice Department to present a case against James again to a grand jury again shows the intensity of its efforts to prosecute the New York attorney general, a frequent Trump political target who was one of several enemies he has said on social media should face legal jeopardy.
Late last month, a federal judge said that Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s handpicked prosecutor, was unlawfully appointed as an interim US attorney and therefore the criminal cases against James and another Trump political opponent — former FBI Director James Comey — must be dismissed. Halligan, a former White House adviser, was given the job after the Justice Department pushed out the previous interim US attorney amid increasing pressure to bring cases against Comey and James.
James had pleaded not guilty to one count of making false statements to a financial institution and one count of bank fraud.
“All actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment” including the indictments against Comey and James “were unlawful exercises of executive power and are hereby set aside,” Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled.
Recommended
Grand jury in Virginia again declines to indict New York AG Letitia James, a frequent Trump political target, on mortgage fraud-related chargeshttps://t.co/zWUxq3FkNm
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) December 11, 2025
Federal prosecutors attempted to indict James in the Eastern District of Virginia back in October. A federal judge dismissed the indictment over Halligan’s appointment.
The Justice Department later tried to re-indict James using a different grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia. However, this also failed. The DOJ refiled the indictment a week after the Norfolk setback. This time, it placed the case before a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia.
It is rare for grand juries to decline to prosecute a defendant. It is not clear whether the Justice Department will make another attempt.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member