Americans paying attention know about New York Attorney General Letitia James. She was elected on a platform of “getting Trump,” without any legally definable understanding of what he might have done to justifying “getting.” Filing trumped up charges that amounted to making law up as she went along, and with the advantages of a corrupt, ethically conflicted judge and a Trump-hating New York jury, Trump was convicted of inflating property values to get favorable loan rates, resulting in a judgement of nearly a half-billion dollars.

That Trump paid the loans in full and on time, and the banks involved testified they were completely satisfied and wanted more of Trump’s business meant nothing to a prejudiced NYC jury. The fact the banks did their own valuations—all banks do that--as Trump’s loan applications encouraged them to do, also meant nothing to the judge and jury.

Now we discover James appears to have done what Trump didn’t do:

For over two decades, Letitia James repeatedly claimed her Brooklyn apartment building was a four-unit property on mortgage applications—despite official records proving it had five.

This may seem a minor discrepancy, but misrepresenting the unit count enabled her to secure more favorable loans, including a 2011 Home Affordable Modification Program(HAMP) loan that saved her tens of thousands of dollars annually.

She allegedly first did this in 2001, and over the years refinanced the property multiple times, every time misrepresenting the number of units. This makes it rather difficult to accept these misrepresentations as a one-time, inadvertent, math error.

But this isn’t James’ only potential legal problem. In 2023, James signed a power of attorney so her relative could complete the purchase of a home in Norfolk, VA on her behalf.  Here’s the problem:

Graphic: VA government document, Public Domain

"I intend to occupy this property as my principal residence," swore James. But did she? Since she went on to conduct her infamous fraud suit against Donald Trump two months later, it seems highly unlikely. But if she didn't move to Virginia, that would mean she fraudulently signed the document.

Why would James have lied on the POA? As anyone who has purchased a second home can tell you, mortgage rates are lower on primary homes than on investment properties. Was James deliberately misrepresenting her status as a resident co-owner to obtain more favorable loan terms?

Was that really James’ principal residence?  Norfolk is some 400 miles from New York City. That’s quite a commute.

Perhaps James really did start spending most of her time with [her relative] Thompson-Hairston in their jointly owned old Virginia home — but that would lead to a different legal pitfall for her. Multiple New York State laws require residency for state officers. "If James declared Virginia as her principal residence—which the power of attorney clearly shows was her intention—she may have triggered an automatic vacancy in the office of Attorney General under New York law—potentially invalidating her authority during the very period she was prosecuting her highest-profile case," notes [Sam E. Antar].

A more in-depth treatment of the issues may be found here. 

James’ self-righteous persecution of Donald Trump, which will surely be revealed to be part of a larger lawfare conspiracy, will almost certainly be overturned on appeal. It will be up to the Bondi DOJ to prosecute James. That this will be done under the rule of law rather than a two-tiered, corrupt system is deliciously ironic.

To review:

*James appears to have committed multiple counts of mortgage fraud in New York.

*She appears to have done the same in Virginia, while simultaneously pursuing Donald Trump for essentially the same thing.

*If James’ principal residence was actually Norfolk, VA she has apparently violated New  York residency laws for state officers.

*If she did that, she arguably forfeited her office as NY’s AG, which means she had no power to prosecute Donald Trump.

*According to law professor Jonathan Turley On the 04-15-25 Ingraham Angle, James also identified her father as her husband to get more favorable loan terms.

While these violations are potentially state crimes, they also arguably constitute fraud under federal statutes, arguably including wire fraud, a statue that has tripped up many corrupt public officials. It’s highly unlikely charges would be brought against James in New York or Virginia, both leftist states, but under the Trump Administration, they’re certainly possible.

James has been referred by the Federal Housing Finance Agency to the DOJ for her alleged crimes relating to to federally administered mortages. James, referring to Donald Trump, frequently intoned: "no one is above the law." We'll see, and it couldn’t happen to a worse woman.

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Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. He is a published author and blogger. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.