‘what Tyranny Looks Like’: James’ Allies Rush To Condemn Indictment By Trump Administration

NEW YORK — New York Democrats rallied swiftly to state Attorney General Letitia James’ side Thursday and blasted President Donald Trump for political vengeance after his Justice Department indicted her as part of a mortgage fraud investigation.

James’ allies are alleging retribution by a president whose company she had successfully sued in New York for civil business fraud, citing a pattern of Trump prosecuting his adversaries.

“This is what tyranny looks like. President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the indictment became public, adding that Trump is targeting James “for the ‘crime’ of prosecuting him for fraud — and winning.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul posted on social media, “What we’re seeing today is nothing less than the weaponization of the Justice Department to punish those who hold the powerful accountable.”

James — one of the state’s most popular Democrats — had campaigned on bringing down Trump and remains one of his top political targets. She was charged Thursday in Virginia with one count of bank fraud and one count of false statements to a financial institution by the same U.S. attorney who brought a case against former FBI Director James Comey, another Trump foe.

James’ civil fraud case against Trump went to court in 2023 and resulted in a nine-figure judgment against the president and his company, though an appeals court later tossed the financial penalty while retaining the fraud verdict. The attorney general and her fellow blue state attorneys general have also sued the Trump administration at least 37 times over his policies ranging from his freeze on federal funding to states to his executive order eliminating birthright citizenship.

The New York attorney general responded to the indictment in a video posted to social media.

“I am not fearful — I am fearless,” James said.

“The president’s actions are a grave violation of our constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties,” she added in the video. “His decision to fire a United States Attorney who refused to bring charges against me and replace them with someone who is blindly loyal not to the law but to the president, is antithetical to the bedrock principles of our country.”

James’ defenders in New York were fierce and relentless in their allegation that Trump has a vendetta — but no case — against James.

“Rather than addressing the grocery and utility bills crushing American families, Donald Trump remains pathologically preoccupied with his personal enemies list,” Rep. Ritchie Torres said in a statement. “The persecution of political rivals has become the singular obsession of his failing presidency.”

Civil rights leader Al Sharpton called the indictment “the latest stop on Donald Trump’s political retribution tour.”

He added of the president, “If he can indict the former FBI Director or the Attorney General of New York, what stops him from going further?”