New York Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime foe of US President Donald Trump, has been indicted on criminal charges for bank fraud, the US Justice Department has said.
A grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, returned an indictment charging Ms James with one count of bank fraud and one count of making a false statement to a lending institution, court records showed.
Lindsey Halligan, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said Ms James had been indicted on one count of bank fraud and one count of making a false statement to a lending institution.
Ms James, a Democrat, said in a statement she would continue serving as New York state's top law enforcement official.
She called the charges "a continuation of the president's desperate weaponisation of our justice system", adding that she "will fight these baseless charges aggressively".
"He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York State attorney general," Ms James said.
The indictment accuses Ms James of falsely telling a bank that she would occupy a home in Norfolk, Virginia, that she bought in 2020 for around $137,000 as a secondary residence, when she allegedly used it as an investment property.
The indictment said the alleged misrepresentation allowed her to receive a favourable interest rate, saving her around $19,000 over the life of the loan.
"The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public's trust," Lindsey Halligan, the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement.
A federal judge scheduled Ms James' initial court appearance for 24 October in Norfolk, Virginia.
President Trump, a Republican who campaigned in part on a vow of retribution after facing a slew of legal woes since his first term in the White House ended in 2021, has repeatedly criticised Ms James on social media and at political rallies as a partisan enemy.
"This is what tyranny looks like," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who represents New York, said in a statement.
"President Trump is using the Justice Department as his personal attack dog," he added.
Each count is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, but should Ms James be convicted, any sentence would be determined by a judge.
The indictment of Ms James comes after a grand jury in Virginia on 25 September indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges of making false statements and obstructing a congressional investigation.
Mr Comey pleaded not guilty yesterday.
President Trump has regularly assailed Mr Comey's handling of the FBI investigation that detailed contacts between Russia and Mr Trump's 2016 campaign.
Both indictments come after Mr Trump, in a 20 September social media post addressed to US Attorney General Pam Bondi, said Ms James, Mr Comey and US Senator Adam Schiff were "guilty as hell".
The indictments against Ms James and Mr Comey were both brought by Ms Halligan, who was installed last month as the top federal prosecutor in Alexandria, Virginia.
Her predecessor, Erik Siebert, resigned on 19 September, hours after Mr Trump told reporters that he wanted Mr Siebert "out".
Mr Siebert believed the evidence against Mr Comey and Ms James was weak, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters at the time.
As with the Comey case, Ms Halligan presented the evidence against Ms James to the grand jury by herself without support from career prosecutors in the office, a person familiar with the matter said.
Prosecutors in the office have previously expressed concerns about the strength of the evidence against her, Reuters previously reported.
Mr Comey's lawyers are expected to argue Ms Halligan was unlawfully appointed as US attorney.
If that motion is successful, it could complicate the cases against Mr Comey and Ms James down the road.
'We will fight these charges'
Ms James is one of several Democratic state attorneys general who have sued to block Trump administration actions.
She is best known for bringing a civil fraud case against Mr Trump and his family real estate company in 2022.
The case resulted in a $454.2 million penalty against Mr Trump after a judge found he fraudulently overstated his net worth to dupe lenders.
A New York state appeals court in August threw out the penalty, which had grown to more than half a billion dollars with interest, but upheld the trial judge's finding that Mr Trump was liable for fraud.
Both Mr Trump and Ms James' office are appealing to the state's highest court.
Mr Trump denied wrongdoing.
He has accused Ms James' office of bringing the case against him for political reasons.
Ms James' lawyer Abbe Lowell said in a statement that he was concerned the case was driven by Mr Trump's desire for revenge.
"We will fight these charges in every process allowed in the law," Mr Lowell said.
The case has been assigned to US District Judge Jamar Walker, who was appointed by former Democratic President Joe Biden.
The Justice Department's mortgage fraud probe into Ms James was opened after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, a Trump appointee, sent the Justice Department a criminal referral letter.
The Justice Department, after receiving referrals from Mr Pulte, has also opened mortgage fraud probes into Mr Schiff, a Democrat who led the House of Representatives' inquiry that led to Mr Trump's impeachment in 2019, and Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors appointed by Mr Biden.
Neither Mr Schiff nor Ms Cook have been charged with a crime and they both deny wrongdoing.
