The federal grand jury indictment of New York’s Democratic Attorney General Letitia James has been greeted with glee by members of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement.
The two-count indictment, which follows the president pressuring U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue charges against his political enemies, accuses James, 66, of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a loan for a property she purchased in 2020.
James launched a civil fraud case against Trump and his business empire in 2022, accusing him of inflating the value of Trump Organization assets. The proceedings ended with Judge Arthur Engoron ordering the now-president to pay a $354 million fine plus interest.
Eric Trump, the president’s son, appeared on Newsmax on Thursday evening and told anchor Carl Higbie: “It’s ironic – she literally sued us over the fact we’d never missed a mortgage payment… She went after us to try to throw us out of New York. Yet now, she’s indicted for allegedly doing exactly what she accused us of.”
Kari Lake, a senior adviser for the U.S. Agency for Global Media and frustrated Arizona political candidate, crowed to Rob Schmitt on the same network: “The good news is, I actually think that Tish is going to look really good in orange. I think it might be her color.
“She’s a top law enforcement officer. She should be thrilled that this administration is following the law to the letter.”
By contrast, CNN anchor Kasie Hunt attempted to come to James’s defense, commenting: “This is something that everyone in America, or many people at least, if you’re lucky enough to be able to buy a house in America, you deal with this, right? The federal government doesn’t go after all of these people for doing this.”
A clip of Hunt making that argument was shared on X by Trump adviser Alex Bruesewitz, who commented: “Wrong, Kasie. Not everyone who buys a house commits mortgage fraud!”
The likes of Jack Posobiec and Fox Business contributor Gary Kaltbaum reacted to Bruesewitz's post by expressing their shared disdain.
Ken Martin, Chair of the Democratic National Committee, expressed support for James, saying in a statement: “This indictment isn’t about the law, it’s about political revenge directed by Donald Trump at someone he deems his enemy.
“There’s a reason why both the U.S. Attorney and career prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia refused to bring forward this baseless indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James – and why they were replaced by a hand-picked, unqualified sycophant with no prosecutorial experience.”
Martin was referring to the administration’s move to replace U.S. attorney Erik Siebert with the much less experienced Lindsey Halligan, a former Miss Colorado contestant and Florida home insurance litigator.
He continued: “Donald Trump doesn’t care about the law or an independent Department of Justice. Weeks ago, Trump publicly demanded the weaponization of our justice system and today, the department dutifully carried out his orders.
“This is a line that cannot be uncrossed. The DNC joins the Democratic Attorneys General Association in condemning this politically motivated attack on Attorney General James. And we encourage Americans everywhere, of any and all political affiliations, to stand against Donald Trump’s attempts to co-opt the government for retribution and intimidation.”
The charges against James were first trailed in April when Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte wrote to Bondi alleging that the AG had “falsified records” in August 2023 to secure favorable home loans on a property in Norfolk, Virginia, by claiming it was her “principal residence” while she was still serving in her role in New York.
“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” James herself reacted in a statement Thursday.
“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost. The president’s actions are a grave violation of our constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties.”
The Trump administration moved recently to indict former FBI director James Comey, accusing him of lying to Congress, and has charged California Sen. Adam Schiff of engaging in mortgage fraud in a parallel case to James’s.
It has also launched an investigation into Barack Obama-era intelligence officials over their handling of accusations that the 2016 Trump campaign colluded with Russian election hackers and has revoked the security clearances of many top officials who served under Joe Biden, provoking allegations that it is pursuing a vendetta on the president’s behalf.
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