Embattled NY AG Letitia James touts Trump legal battles — while blasting DOJ probe into alleged real estate fraud

Yahoo

5 hours ago

Embattled state Attorney General Letitia James touted her slew of lawsuits targeting the Trump administration to New York bigwigs Tuesday — as she blasted the brewing investigations into her real estate holdings as 'nothing more than retribution.'
'As of today, we have filed 21, 22, 23 lawsuits against this administration,' she boasted after delivering the keynote address at the Association for a Better New York's 'Power Breakfast' in Manhattan.
She then rattled off a laundry list of litigation her office has filed, spanning matters including birthright citizenship, funding of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the termination of COVID grants and cuts to AmeriCorps.
She also blasted the administration's hardline stance on illegal immigration, calling it 'a blemish of moral fiber on our nation,' which 'runs counter to the poetry on the Statue of Liberty, which welcomes immigrants to our shores seeking a better life.'
Approached by The Post regarding a growing number of probes she's facing over alleged instances of mortgage fraud — including a criminal investigation launched by the FBI and US Attorney's Office in Albany earlier this month — James dismissed the allegations.
'I don't know, they keep saying they're investigating me — as you know we filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and his family. We secured a $454 million judgment against it, which is on appeal. I have no idea when that case will be decided. This investigation into me is nothing more than retribution. It's baseless,' she said.
The investigation into her real estate holdings, first reported by the Albany Times Union, began when Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department last month.
Pulte alleged James 'falsified records' by claiming in writing that a Norfolk, Virginia, home she purchased with her niece in 2023 would be her 'principal residence' while acting as New York's top cop, and that she misrepresented the number of units in her Brooklyn residence to obtain more favorable loan terms.
James admitted to making a clerical error on a 2023 power of attorney form pursuant to the purchase of the Virginia property, but claims any wrongdoing ends there.
'But prior to that I had indicated to the mortgage broker that, in fact, in bold capital letters, that I am not a resident of Virginia and never will be,' she said.
'They just took the power of attorney and they're using that as a basis for enforcement for their investigation, when in reality, the power of attorney was never used to determine my eligibility for a mortgage for my niece for a home in the state of Virginia. My niece, who has two children — I wanted her to have a home,' the AG said.
High-powered attorney Abbe David Lowell, one of Hunter Biden's top lawyers in the scandal-scarred former first son's special counsel probe, has been retained by the attorney general.
A James spokesman said she will pay for this using a combination of a private legal defense funds as well as state funds, which means New York taxpayers will eventually foot the bill for at least some of his services.