Justice Department tried to bring a third felony charge against Letitia James
By Kaanita Iyer, CNN
(CNN) — The Justice Department tried to add a third felony charge related to mortgage fraud against Letitia James when attempting to reindict the New York attorney general last week, according to court documents.
The attempted third criminal count, which was first reported by Politico, would have added to the allegations against James of making false statements to a financial institution. A grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, declined to bring the new indictment that would have included the additional charge on December 11, as CNN previously reported.
James currently faces no criminal charges in the mortgage fraud probe, and prosecutors’ inability of securing a grand jury indictment – a rarity – against Trump’s political opponent has been an embarrassment for the Department of Justice, which is increasingly being accused of pursuing cases to satisfy the president rather than on sound legal reasoning.
The Justice Department, a day after the grand jury declined to bring an indictment, also attempted to seal the failed indictment, calling for the tradition of grand jury secrecy to be protected, including the jurors’ identities. However, a magistrate judge declined to do so, pointing to the fact that the grand jury’s decision was already reported by news outlets.
James, a Democrat, was indicted in October on one count of making false statements to a financial institution and one count of bank fraud. She pleaded not guilty to the two charges before the case was dismissed last month.
The Justice Department’s attempt to revive – and add – charges against James comes as President Donald Trump has used the department to target his political opponents.
Trump’s chief of staff Susie Wiles said in an interview with Vanity Fair that the president’s efforts to do so “may look like retribution,” adding, “there may be an element of that from time to time.” She said of the alleged prosecution of James: “Well, that might be the one retribution.”
When bringing the initial charges in October, prosecutors alleged that James had claimed on mortgage paperwork that a home she purchased in Norfolk, Virginia, would be her second residence, allowing her to get a favorable mortgage rate. Prosecutors said that James didn’t use the house and rented it out instead.
James’ indictment was dismissed in November after a federal judge found that Trump’s appointment of interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan to the district which prosecuted the case was invalid. Since then, the Justice Department tried and failed to reindict James twice.
Prosecutors could go back to a grand jury again and continue their efforts to reindict James over the same allegations in the hopes that it will approve charges.
CNN’s Devan Cole, Hannah Rabinowitz, Casey Gannon, Katelyn Polantz and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.
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