By Ginika Igboke
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Dec. 4 responded to media reports citing anonymous sources claiming that a federal grand jury declined to re-indict her.
In a statement, Ms. James criticized what she described as the Justice Department’s second attempt to charge her, calling it an “unchecked weaponization of our justice system.”
“As I have said from the start, the charges against me are baseless. It is time for this unchecked weaponization of our justice system to stop,” she said. “I am grateful to the members of the grand jury and humbled by the support I have received from across the country. Now, I will continue to do my job standing up for the rule of law and the people of New York.”
Multiple outlets, including NBC and Fox News, reported Thursday evening that a grand jury declined to re-indict Ms. James after prosecutors revived the case for a second time.
Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, told CNN, “I can’t tell you a time in the federal system … where a federal prosecutor thought a case was strong enough to bring to a grand jury, and the grand jury has said no.”
The court has not publicly announced the grand jury’s decision, and the Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.
The reported development comes less than two weeks after a judge dismissed the Justice Department’s original indictment against Ms. James.
Court filings from Oct. 9 showed that prosecutors had secured a grand jury indictment accusing her of bank fraud and making false statements on a 2020 mortgage application for a home in Norfolk, Virginia. She purchased the property in August 2020 and stated on loan documents that she intended to use it as her personal residence. Prosecutors later alleged she rented the home to a family of three, enabling her to secure more favorable loan terms.
Ms. James denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty on Oct. 24.
A month later, U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie of South Carolina dismissed the indictment—along with one against former FBI Director James Comey—after ruling that the prosecutor who brought the cases had been improperly appointed. Judge Currie found that Lindsey Halligan, serving as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, had been unlawfully installed in the role.
Following the dismissal, different prosecutors presented a new case to a grand jury in Norfolk.
Although prosecutors did not secure an indictment on Thursday, the Justice Department could still attempt to bring charges again.
In a statement responding to the media reports, Mr. Lowell said, “This should be the end of the case.”
“If they continue, undeterred by a court ruling and a grand jury’s rejection of these charges, it will be a shocking assault on the rule of law and a devastating blow to the integrity of our justice system,” he added.
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