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- A Virginia grand jury again declined to indict New York state Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday.
- This marks the Justice Department's second failed attempt to revive mortgage fraud charges against James.
- James's lawyer criticized the case as politically motivated and damaging to the DOJ.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal grand jury in Virginia refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday on allegations of mortgage fraud for the second time since a judge dismissed charges against her last month, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The decision marks the latest rebuke to the Justice Department under President Donald Trump as it pursues perceived political enemies of the Republican president.
U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie last month dismissed a mortgage-related criminal case against James, an elected Democrat, finding the prosecutor who brought it, Trump ally Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed as interim U.S. attorney for Virginia's Eastern District. Thursday's decision marks the second time a grand jury has rejected prosecutors' attempts to revive the case.
Prosecutors presented evidence before a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, on Thursday, a week after a panel based in Norfolk, Virginia, also refused to sign off on a new indictment, sources said. The Justice Department could continue its attempts to seek charges.
A lawyer for James, Abbe Lowell, said the grand jury's decision "makes even clearer that this case should never have seen the light of day."
"This case already has been a stain on this Department's reputation and raises troubling questions about its integrity. Any further attempt to revive these discredited charges would be a mockery of our system of justice," Lowell said in a statement.
A justice department spokesperson declined to comment.
Prosecutors rarely struggle to obtain indictments from grand juries, given that the government alone presents evidence and must only show probable cause that a crime was committed, a lower legal bar than for securing a conviction at trial. But the Justice Department's struggle to revive the case appears to show deep skepticism among grand jurors about a case Trump called for as he pressured the department to move against prominent critics and officials who have investigated him.
Currie gave the Justice Department an opportunity to seek a new indictment with a different prosecutor in charge.
James previously pleaded not guilty to charges of bank fraud and lying to a financial institution for allegedly misrepresenting her use of a Norfolk, Virginia, home to secure more favorable loan terms.
James characterized the case as an abuse of the criminal justice system designed to punish her for her criticism of Trump and a lawsuit she led against Trump and his family's real estate business.
James was one of three high-profile Trump critics whom the Justice Department has brought charges against in recent months, along with former FBI Director James Comey and Trump's former national security adviser, John Bolton.
Currie also dismissed the case against Comey, which was led by Halligan, ruling that her appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was defective.
Bolton has pleaded not guilty to federal charges brought in Maryland.
James brought a civil fraud case against Trump and his family business, which resulted in a more than $450 million penalty after a judge found in 2024 that Trump fraudulently overstated his net worth to dupe lenders.
Trump, who campaigned in part on a vow of retribution, has for years railed against James and called for her prosecution, claiming the case was brought to damage him politically.
A New York state appeals court in August threw out the penalty, which had grown to more than $500 million with interest, but upheld the trial judge's finding that Trump was liable for fraud.
Contributing: Jasper Ward
