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Reuters

New York Attorney General Letitia James, a long-time critic of US President Donald Trump, pleaded not guilty in federal court on Friday to charges related to allegedly lying on mortgage documents.
James, a Democrat who last year secured a US$450 million civil fraud judgment against Trump, is one of three perceived enemies that the Republican president’s administration has brought criminal charges against in the past month, along with former FBI director James Comey and former national security adviser John Bolton.
All three have denied wrongdoing.
Appearing before a federal judge in Norfolk, Virginia, James said: “Not guilty, judge, to both counts.” A trial set was set for January 26, 2026.
Outside the federal courthouse, supporters of James gathered with signs where they chanted: “Hey hey! Ho ho! Let Letitia James go!” and “This is what democracy looks like.”
In a fiery speech, a defiant James thanked the crowd for their support after she exited the courthouse.
“This is not about me,” she said. “This is about all of us. About a justice system which has been weaponised. A justice system which has been used as a tool of revenge,” she said.

“So there’s no fear today,” she said, as the crowd chanted back: “No fear!”
“I believe justice will rain down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream,” James said.
Trump has promised to seek retribution against people he alleges used the justice system against him in an effort to prevent him from returning to power.
He pressured Attorney General Pam Bondi to speed up the action, and replaced the prior US attorney overseeing the James and Comey cases with a loyalist after that lead prosecutor expressed concerns with the strength of the evidence in both matters.
Two other Trump rivals – Democratic Senator Adam Schiff and Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook – remain under criminal investigation and have also denied wrongdoing.
More than half of Americans, including about one in three Republicans, believe Trump is using federal law enforcement to target his enemies, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll this month.
James last year won a US$454.2 million penalty against Trump after a judge found he fraudulently overstated his net worth to dupe lenders.
A New York state appeal court in August threw out the penalty, which had grown to more than US$500 million with interest, but upheld the trial judge’s finding that Trump was liable for fraud.
Both Trump and James’ office are appealing to the state’s highest court.
A source familiar with Trump’s thinking said that Trump’s anger towards James is particularly acute because of the challenges he faced when he struggled to secure a bond to cover the judgment, putting him at risk of having his assets seized.

James became a Justice Department target after Trump ally Bill Pulte, who leads the Federal Housing Finance Agency, made a criminal referral that raised questions about whether James lied on her mortgage applications in order to obtain a more favourable interest rate.
That sort of case is rarely prosecuted by the federal government, a Reuters analysis of eight years of court records showed.
The charges against James focused on a property that she bought in Norfolk, Virginia, in 2020 for around US$137,000, not one of the two Pulte initially raised questions about.
The indictment alleges that James falsely told the bank she would occupy the residence as a second home, when she actually used it as an investment property.
This alleged misrepresentation allowed her to receive a favourable interest rate that saved her nearly US$19,000 over the life of the loan, the indictment says.
James faces two criminal counts, bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution. “We will fight these baseless charges aggressively,” she said when the charges were first brought.
James’ legal team has already indicated she will seek to have the charges thrown out on the grounds that US Attorney Lindsey Halligan, the prosecutor Trump appointed to lead the case, is unlawfully serving in the role. Comey has made a similar argument in his case.
A hearing on Comey’s challenge to Halligan’s appointment will be held in Alexandria, Virginia, on November 13.
That challenge is being heard outside Virginia to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest. In an unusual move, an attorney who normally handles civil litigation from a US attorney’s office in Missouri has joined Halligan on the case, after prosecutors in Halligan’s Virginia office expressed scepticism about the James case.
US District Judge Jamar Walker, who was appointed by former Democratic US president Joe Biden, will hear the case.


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Donald Trump

Trump foe Letitia James pleads not guilty to mortgage fraud charges

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks to the media in Norfolk, Virginia, oin Friday. Photo: Reuters

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks outside the courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia, on Friday. Photo: TNS

A man holds a sign outside the courthouse on Friday, the day of New York Attorney General Letitia James’s hearing in Norfolk, Virginia. Photo: Reuters

Trump’s ex-adviser Bolton pleads not guilty to charges of sharing classified information

Former White House national security adviser John Bolton arrives at a US District Court in Maryland, to surrender and face an initial appearance on charges of mishandled classified information. Photo: Reuters

Former White House national security adviser John Bolton goes through security as he arrives at a Maryland court on Friday. Photo: Reuters

John Bolton stands alongside US President Donald Trump during a meeting in Washington in 2018. Photo: AFP

The Trump administration tried unsuccessfully to block publication of Bolton’s book, claiming it contained classified national security information. Photo: AFP

Ex-FBI director Comey seeks dismissal of criminal charges, citing Trump’s ‘spite’

Former FBI director James Comey during his court arraignment in early October. Image: Dana Verkouteren via AP


James Comey in a video message on September 25, 2025, that he was innocent. Photo: James Comey via Instagram

US President Donald Trump with then FBI Director James Comey in 2017. File photo: AP

Letitia James, NY attorney general and Trump foe, indicted for bank fraud

New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference in February 2024. Photo: AFP

Protesters rally while waiting for former FBI director James Comey to leave his arraignment hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

Trump ran on a promise of revenge. He’s making good on it

US President Donald Trump speaks at the White House in July. Photo: AFP

Former US national security adviser John Bolton waves as he arrives at his house in Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday. Photo: AP

A Bethesda, Maryland, resident holds a sign that reads “Trump Uses FBI for Vengeance #NoKings” outside the home of John Bolton during an FBI search on Friday. Photo: AFP

News

World

United States & Canada

The New York attorney general says the US president is using the justice system as a ‘tool of revenge’


The New York attorney general says the US president is using the justice system as a ‘tool of revenge’.


Trump foe Letitia James pleads not guilty to mortgage fraud charges

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The New York attorney general says the US president is using the justice system as a ‘tool of revenge’

The New York attorney general says the US president is using the justice system as a ‘tool of revenge’