Letitia James spent years going after Donald Trump with everything she had.
She turned New York’s legal system into her personal political weapon.
And a Fox News host revealed how Letitia James made one big mistake that will cost her big time.
James faces federal charges for mortgage fraud in Virginia
New York Attorney General Letitia James built her entire career on one promise – getting Donald Trump.
She campaigned openly on prosecuting the former President before she even knew what crimes she’d accuse him of.
James spent years crafting bogus legal theories to go after Trump’s business empire.
Now federal prosecutors have brought charges against James herself for the same type of conduct she prosecuted Trump for.¹
The charges stem from James allegedly falsifying mortgage documents to secure better loan rates on a Norfolk, Virginia property she purchased in 2020.
According to prosecutors, James listed her Virginia property as her secondary residence to qualify for lower mortgage rates – but then rented the property to a family of three, making it an investment property.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency referred James to the Justice Department in April after Director William Pulte alleged she had falsified records on multiple properties.
Pulte accused James of misrepresenting her residency status on both Virginia and Brooklyn properties to get favorable loan terms.
Fox News legal expert explains how James trapped herself with her own standards
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett appeared on "Hannity" to break down why James has no way out of these charges.
The reason comes down to the legal standards James herself established when prosecuting Trump.
"It is not a defense if the charges are justified, as I think they may be. She’ll also claim, of course, ‘Oh, it’s a big misunderstanding, paperwork snafu, somebody else is to blame.’ But under her own stated standard in the Trump case, she declared that is never an excuse. So she’s hoisted on her own petard, as Shakespeare would say in Hamlet," Jarrett told Sean Hannity.²
Jarrett explained how James personally signed the documents that now incriminate her.
"It’s a pretty serious case against her, Sean. You cannot claim an occupied residence, get a lower mortgage rate, and then rent it out. You’re cheating the lender by lying, and James actually incriminated herself," Jarrett said.²
The contradiction in James’s own documents creates an impossible situation for her defense team.
According to prosecutors, she claimed the property was her secondary residence to get better mortgage terms, but then immediately rented it out to a family of three.
That would make it an investment property requiring different, more expensive financing terms.
Trump’s legal strategy comes full circle on James
The timing of James’s indictment couldn’t be more perfect from Trump’s perspective.
James spent years arguing that intent doesn’t matter in fraud cases and that paperwork mistakes are never acceptable excuses.
She used these exact arguments to go after Trump’s business practices in a case that ultimately collapsed.
"Well, it can’t be both. That’s illegal. Predictably, today she just whined that the law is being weaponized against her. Spare me the moral outrage. It was phony. She was the one who campaigned on the promise to get Trump, then conjured up that ludicrous case only to get slapped down by the appellate court in an epic embarrassment," Jarrett explained.³
The appellate court didn’t just reject James’s case against Trump – they overturned a nearly $500 million penalty in August, calling it "excessive" and a violation of the Eighth Amendment.
James built her legal theories on the idea that anyone who provides false information to secure better financial terms is guilty of fraud, regardless of intent.
Now she’s facing those same theories applied to her own conduct.
Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, appointed by Trump just weeks ago, is leading the prosecution against James.
Halligan took over after Erik Siebert reportedly stepped down when he refused pressure to file charges against political figures.
Look what James’s own legal standard means for her defense
Here’s what makes this situation so devastating for James.
In her Trump prosecution, she argued that claiming ignorance or blaming subordinates was never a valid defense for providing false information on financial documents.
James repeatedly stated that the buck stops with whoever signs the documents, regardless of their intent or knowledge.
Those documents with James’s signature now form the backbone of the federal case against her.
Her mortgage documents claim the Virginia property as her secondary residence.
Her rental to a family of three shows it was actually used as an investment property.
But her loan application got the favorable terms reserved for secondary residences – not the higher rates required for investment properties.
Jarrett noted that James will likely follow the same playbook as other indicted Democrat officials like James Comey.
"I think he or she’s going to do exactly what James Comey is doing, claim selective, vindictive prosecution, try to get the case dismissed, avoid trial entirely. But, you know, under the law the burden shifts to her to prove by clear evidence that the case has an unjustifiable motive," Jarrett said.⁴
The problem for James is that the evidence comes from her own hand.
She personally executed the documents that create the contradiction at the heart of the fraud charges.
James has already started claiming the prosecution is politically motivated, despite building her career on politically motivated prosecutions.
Her own legal standards suggest that won’t matter.
She established the precedent that providing false information on financial documents is fraud, period.
The woman who weaponized New York’s legal system against Trump now faces the same weapon pointed directly at her.
¹ Mariane Angela, "’Hoisted On Her Own Petard’: Gregg Jarrett Breaks Down How Letitia James Incriminated Herself," Daily Caller News Foundation, October 10, 2025.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
