New York Attorney General Letitia James was charged on Thursday by the US Justice Department as part of a mortgage fraud investigation by President Donald Trump.
Lindsay Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement, “No one is above the law. The charges in this case represent intentional criminal acts and a blatant violation of the public trust.”
“If convicted, Letitia James faces up to 30 years in prison per count, fines and forfeiture of up to $1 million on each count,” the statement from Halligan’s office said.
Letitia James says allegations are ‘baseless’
James had drawn Trump’s ire when she sued Trump and his company for fraud when he was running for office.
The Attorney General dismissed the charges against him, calling them “baseless” and “political retaliation” for his successful civil lawsuit against the President.
“The President’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,” James said in a video posted on social media. He said Trump’s actions “are a serious violation of our constitutional order.”
James said, “This is nothing more than a continuation of the President’s desperate weaponization of our justice system. He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to obey him, all because I have done my job as Attorney General of the State of New York.”
Democrats condemn Trump’s ‘tyranny’
James’s indictment comes after the US Justice Department announced charges against former FBI Director James Comey, who led the investigation into Russian election interference during the 2016 election, which Trump won.
US Senate leader Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York called the impeachment against Letitia James an “atrocity” by Trump.
Schumer said of the case, “This looks like tyranny. President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog, targeting Attorney General Tish James for the ‘crime’ of prosecuting and winning for fraud.”
Edited by: Wesley Dockery