The FBI appears to be doing Donald Trump’s bidding, opening a formal criminal investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James.
The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albany are investigating James’ personal real estate and mortgage deals, the Times Union reported. The transactions in question involve personal property in New York City and Virginia.
Trump’s administration cast the spotlight on James last month, leading to her becoming the subject of a criminal referral by Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte.
The allegations against James include:
- Marking on a mortgage application that a house she and her niece bought in Virginia would be a primary residence
- James being listed as her father’s wife on documents for a 1983 purchase of a Queens house
- Misrepresenting the number of units at a Brooklyn property
- Falsifying documents to secure better mortgage terms
At least one allegation, dating back to 1983, probably has nowhere to go due to statutes of limitations.
James said the allegations against her are “baseless.” She has characterized Pulte’s action as a “revenge tour” and accused the administration of weaponizing the federal government.
Her lawyer similarly accused Trump of weaponizing the Justice Department and going after the AG in an act of “political retribution” because of the investigations her office launched against the president over the years.
One of those investigations resulted in a $360 million penalty levied against Trump, his sons and the Trump organization after they were found liable for falsifying wealth and overstating property values for better loan terms. The verdict and penalty have been appealed.
Pulte has said the allegations against James, if proven, could represent violations of federal statutes regarding wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud or making false statements to a financial institution.
An anonymous James detractor is stirring the pot, having mailed media outlets paperwork documenting a discrepancy in the unit count for her Brooklyn building.
That detractor reportedly used a fictitious name and claimed to be part of a group that looked into James’ property records “because they were upset their friend had committed suicide while he was under investigation by the attorney general’s office for mortgage fraud.”
— Holden Walter-Warner
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