Letitia James Pleads Not Guilty To Fraud Criminal Charges, Trial Date Set For January

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

The Trump administration’s case against James is “about all of us, and a justice system which has been weaponized” and “used as a tool of revenge,” James told supporters gathered outside the courthouse Friday following her arraignment, saying she has “strong” faith that she’ll prevail in her case. “I believe that justice will rain down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream,” James told supporters, adding she “will not be deterred” and “will not be distracted” from continuing her work as attorney general.

What To Watch For

James’ trial is expected to last approximately a week, prosecutors projected Friday, saying they’ll likely call eight to 10 witnesses. It’s still possible the trial could get delayed from its January start date, should any motions in the case before then get dragged out. James’ motion asking for the case to be thrown out will be heard at a hearing in early December, the court announced Friday.

Surprising Fact

ABC News reported Thursday prosecutors investigating James’ case previously found evidence that appears to undercut claims made in the indictment, which legal experts had already suggested is not a particularly strong case. The indictment alleges James rented her Virginia residence to a family of three and has made “thousands” of dollars in rental income, also alleging that securing more favorable mortgage terms ultimately saved James $17,837 over the life of the loan. Prosecutors who compiled a memo prior to James’ indictment found that she was actually letting her great-niece live rent-free in the property, however, only collecting $1,350 for utilities that she disclosed on her 2020 tax return. James likely only got a financial benefit of about $800 in the year she purchased the home, and any benefit from more favorable mortgage terms would only save her $10,800 over the 30-year life of the mortgage, or between $15 and $30 a month. Investigators also believed it would be difficult to prove any wrongdoing by James, according to the memo, because of vagueness in the federal mortgage guidelines around a property owner’s occupancy. The reporting on the memo comes after no career prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia signed on to the indictment against James—with Halligan now instead getting legal help from prosecutors in other districts—and after the district’s previous U.S. Attorney, Erik Siebert, was ousted from his job and replaced with Halligan, reportedly because he refused to prosecute James and Comey. Halligan, who has no prior prosecutorial experience, has also since fired the prosecutor who wrote the James memo, ABC reports.

Tangent

In addition to signaling they intend to challenge Halligan’s appointment as U.S. attorney, James’ legal team has also asked the court to restrict the prosecutor from making statements about the case outside of court. The motion comes after Lawfare journalist Anna Bower reported Halligan had contacted her through Signal to object to Bower’s reporting about James’ case and the grand jury that indicted the attorney general. Halligan claimed Bower was reporting things that were “simply not true” and made comments to the journalist that concerned the grand jury proceedings, which are governed by secrecy rules. The prosecutor’s conversation with Bower—which Halligan unsuccessfully later tried to claim was “off the record” and couldn’t be reported—“ran roughshod” over federal rules governing prosecutions and attorney conduct, James’ lawyers argued, and Halligan “ignor[ed] any concerns of prejudice to the defendant, a fair trial, and rules against extrajudicial statements and pretrial publicity.”

Key Background

James was indicted after long drawing Trump’s ire, most notably by bringing a civil fraud case against the president and his company that resulted in Trump being ordered to pay a fine of more than $350 million. (An appeals court has since overturned that penalty.) She is the second major Trump foe to be indicted on criminal charges during the president’s second term, with her indictment coming after Comey was indicted on making false statements to Congress—another set of charges that legal experts have been widely skeptical of. Former National Security Advisor John Bolton was also indicted in Maryland following James being charged, though that stemmed from an investigation that began during the Biden administration and is regarded by experts as a stronger case. Trump has long vowed “retribution” against his political enemies, and Comey and James’ prosecutions came shortly after the president publicly implored Attorney General Pam Bondi to take action against them. “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” Trump wrote on Truth Social—in a message that was reportedly intended to be a private message—describing Comey, James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. as being “guilty as hell.”

Further Reading

ForbesHere’s How Trump’s Attacks On His Political Opponents Could Backfire On HimBy Alison DurkeeForbesLetitia James Says Indictment ‘Nothing More’ Than Trump Weaponizing Justice SystemBy Siladitya RayForbesTrump Owes $500 Million For His New York Fraud Case — Now His DOJ Is Investigating The Attorney GeneralBy Alison Durkee