Letitia James says charges against her stem from ‘illegal and unethical behavior’ by Trump administration
By Kara Scannell, Devan Cole, CNN
(CNN) — New York Attorney General Letitia James says the Trump administration engaged in “outrageous” conduct to overcome hurdles to bring the mortgage fraud case against her and urged a judge to throw out the indictment.
James’ lawyers point to the collective actions of President Donald Trump; Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who made the criminal referral to the Justice Department; Attorney General Pam Bondi; Lindsey Halligan, the US attorney who brought the case; and Ed Martin, the special attorney in charge of mortgage fraud cases.
“This indictment is the product of months of illegal and unethical behavior by government officials, only made possible by the misuse of a federal agency, the disregard of exculpatory evidence, the systematic removal of ethics officials and career prosecutors who stood in the way, and the improper attempt to install an unqualified U.S. Attorney with nothing to offer except undying loyalty,” lawyers for James wrote in a motion Monday to dismiss the case.
“If this brazen, continuous disregard for the law and the Constitution is not outrageous government conduct, nothing is,” they wrote.
The motion, which is a long shot, is one of several legal maneuvers James’ lawyers have launched to try to get the charges dismissed. The indictment alleges she misled a lender when she obtained a mortgage in 2020 on a property in Norfolk, Virginia.
James has previously argued the charges should be thrown out on the basis that the case is the result of vindictive and selective prosecution and that Halligan is serving unlawfully as US attorney. She is also asking the judge to provide her with material from the grand jury presentation, including whether any exculpatory evidence was presented. Prosecutors have not yet responded to the filings.
James has pleaded not guilty, and a trial is scheduled for January.
In the latest filing, James’ lawyers raised questions about the source of material for Pulte’s referral, suggesting he may have improperly accessed loan files from Fannie Mae’s database. Citing media reports, the lawyers say Pulte fired officials from the FHFA inspector general’s office who were looking into whether he followed internal procedures.
They also highlighted internal messages between investigators at Fannie Mae to support their claim. In one message, dated June 13, 2025, the Fannie Mae director of mortgage fraud investigations told an associate: “the LJ case is certainly not clear and convincing evidence” of fraud,” according to the court filing. The associate responds, “director asking how we know that the [niece] has lived there since oct 2020,” which James’ lawyers say is “clearly demonstrating Director Pulte’s intimate and direct involvement in the investigation.”
James is accused of falsely stating she would use the property as a second home. Prosecutors allege she rented out the property and benefited from lower interest rates by receiving a mortgage for a second home instead of an investment property. People familiar with the arrangement say James’ grandniece has lived in the property since it was purchased and has never paid rent.
Pulte, James’ lawyers’ argued, played a hands-on role and sent additional information, including a financial calculation of interest rate differences, to Martin and Halligan, who was named US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after her predecessor refused to bring a case against James.
In addition to Pulte, James’ lawyers say Martin’s conduct violated professional rules and DOJ policy by suggesting if James resigned the investigation would be dropped. They also said when Martin posed for photos outside of James’ Brooklyn home, it was an act of intimidation.
“The charges she now faces are inextricably linked to the government’s illegal and unethical investigatory techniques,” James’ lawyers wrote.
If the judge doesn’t dismiss the indictment, James’ lawyers are asking for additional communication between Trump, Bondi, Halligan, Martin and Pulte, as well as their staff.
Based on some information they have already received, her lawyers wrote, “over 100 pages of discovery likely turned over by the former FHFA acting inspector general has not been produced.”
Asks for grand jury records
James’ team on Monday also asked the court to order prosecutors to turn over documents related to the grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, that approved the charges against her in October, as well as one empaneled in Norfolk this summer as the Justice Department was investigating her.
Halligan ultimately asked only the Alexandria grand jury to vote on the charges, something James’ attorneys described as a “unique set of circumstances” that warranted their right to sift through a trove of documents they don’t have access to in order to “assess whether the grand jury that brought the indictment was selected, presented to and instructed properly.”
Among the materials James’ team wants access to are documents concerning how the jurors in Alexandria were screened, statements Halligan made to the jurors in Alexandria, and whether certain information provided to the Norfolk grand jury — including potentially exculpatory facts — was also given to the jurors who were asked to vote on the charges.
A person familiar with the investigation has said James’ grandniece testified before the Norfolk grand jury.
“The need for disclosing the narrow set of grand jury materials being requested is high,” James’ lawyers wrote in court papers, acknowledging the fact that the documents sought are ordinarily kept under wraps.
A similar fight over grand jury records in James Comey’s criminal case has been underway in recent weeks. A judge has ordered prosecutors in the former FBI director’s case to hand over all grand jury materials to Comey’s team, but the government is trying to stop that decision.
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