WASHINGTON, DC – A grand jury declined on Thursday (Friday, Manila time) to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, a political foe of President Donald Trump, on mortgage fraud charges, US media reported.
The failure by federal prosecutors to secure an indictment of James comes less than two weeks after the initial case against her was tossed out.
District Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the case against James — and another against former FBI chief James Comey — on the grounds that the US attorney handpicked by Trump who brought the charges was unlawfully appointed.
NBC News said different prosecutors presented the James case to a grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia, on Thursday but failed to get an indictment.
The television network said the Justice Department could still try again.
James, 67, a Democrat who successfully prosecuted Trump for fraud, was indicted in October on one count of bank fraud and a second one of making false statements to a financial institution. AFP
Comey, 64, was charged in September with making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding.
Both cases have been widely seen as retribution by Trump against political opponents.
The Comey and James indictments came after the interim US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, stepped down after reportedly telling Justice Department leaders there was insufficient evidence to charge them.
Attorney General Pam Bondi replaced Siebert with Lindsey Halligan, a former personal lawyer to Trump, and she secured the indictments.
Top federal prosecutors are subject to Senate confirmation. Judge Currie had said that Halligan had been unlawfully appointed because her predecessor was also serving in an acting capacity, and US law does not allow two successive interim prosecutors. AFP
