Trump officials pressuring federal prosecutors to bring criminal charges against NY AG Letitia James: Sources

[mahatmakanejeeves]

◥◤Kriston Capps
‪@kristoncapps.bsky.social‬

"When federal prosecutors recently declined to indict James, Pulte encouraged Trump to fire Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and replace him with a prosecutor who would be willing to bring charges against James"

https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-officials-pressuring-federal-prosecutors-bring-criminal-charges/story?id=125636577

Trump officials pressuring federal prosecutors to bring criminal charges against NY AG Letitia James: Sources
Top Trump administration officials are pressuring federal prosecutors in Virginia to bring charges against New York AG Letitia James for mortgage fraud, sources say.
abcnews.go.com
September 17, 2025 at 9:14 AM

"When federal prosecutors recently declined to indict James, Pulte encouraged Trump to fire Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and replace him with a prosecutor who would be willing to bring charges against James" abcnews.go.com/US/trump-off...

— ◥◤Kriston Capps (@kristoncapps.bsky.social) 2025-09-17T13:14:16.496Z

Trump officials pressuring federal prosecutors to bring criminal charges against NY AG Letitia James: Sources
Prosecutors have not found clear evidence James committed a crime, sources say.

By Peter Charalambous, Katherine Faulders, and Alexander Mallin
September 17, 2025, 5:21 AM

Top Trump administration officials are pressuring federal prosecutors in Virginia to bring charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud, despite investigators so far failing to find sufficient evidence supporting such charges, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

After a five-month investigation and interviews with more than a dozen witnesses, federal prosecutors have so far uncovered no clear evidence that James knowingly made false statements to a financial institution to secure favorable terms on a mortgage for her Virginia home, according to multiple sources briefed on the investigation.

Trump himself has pressured the Department of Justice leadership to investigate James more aggressively, and two officials -- Ed Martin, the head of the DOJ's Weaponization Working Group, and Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency -- have pushed the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia to seek an indictment of James. … When federal prosecutors recently declined to indict James, Pulte encouraged Trump to fire Erik Siebert, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and replace him with a prosecutor who would be willing to bring charges against James, sources said.

The move to seek an indictment against one of the president's political rivals -- who successfully brought a civil fraud case against Trump last year and leads multiple lawsuits challenging his administration's policies -- would mark a significant escalation in what the president's critics have labeled a campaign of political retribution.

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