Fbi Opens Criminal Investigation Into Trump Legal Foe Letitia James

The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into mortgage fraud allegations against New York Attorney General Letitia James, who US President Donald Trump has publicly targeted because she pursued legal action against him, several American media outlets reported on Thursday.

James has joined attorneys general from other states in challenging Trump’s second-term agenda. After Trump’s first term in office, she brought a civil fraud lawsuit against him that resulted in millions of dollars of penalties.

Trump has called for the prosecution of James and New York State Justice Arthur Engoron, the judge who oversaw that case.

Last month, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, a Trump appointee, sent a letter to the US Justice Department alleging James “falsified records” to obtain favourable loans on a home she bought in 2023 in Virginia and Brooklyn, the New York Post reported.

In a statement, James’ lawyer Abbe Lowell called the allegations “baseless and long-discredited”. “This appears to be the political retribution President Trump threatened to exact,” Lowell said. “If prosecutors are genuinely interested in the truth, we are prepared to meet false claims with facts.”

The Washington Post said it is believed to be the first criminal investigation by the administration involving a law enforcement official who took action against Trump.

The facade of Trump Tower is shown in New York in March 2024. Photo: AP

The investigation is being handled by the FBI’s Albany office, the Times Union newspaper reported, citing law enforcement sources familiar with the matter. The opening of an investigation does not mean any charges will be brought.

The US Department of Justice declined to comment. A spokesperson for the FBI’s Albany office declined to comment.

James brought a lawsuit in 2022 that accused Trump and his family businesses of overstating his net worth by as much as US$3.6 billion a year over a decade to fool bankers into giving him better loan terms.

That lawsuit led to Trump being ordered in February 2024 to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties for fraudulently overstating his net worth to dupe lenders.

James has also joined other Democratic attorneys general in suing the Trump administration over its policies, including its orders on election overhauls, cuts to health and education, and other moves.

She and other Democratic state attorneys general have also denounced Trump’s orders targeting law firms and judges.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse