New York Attorney General Letitia James mentioned Friday her prison case must be thrown out as a result of it’s the product of President Donald Trump’s yearslong personal vendetta in opposition to her.
Lawyers for James filed a motion to dismiss the two-count indictment associated to a 2020 mortgage, saying it’s each a vindictive and selective prosecution.
“The Government’s conduct here has offended the very core of due process and equal protection principles in transforming the Department of Justice into the President’s personal agents of revenge,” her legal professionals wrote. “The only remedy that will vindicate AG James’ rights is dismissal with prejudice, as the investigation and the Department of Justice are too tainted with unconstitutional motivation to bring these charges fairly against AG James,” they wrote.
James’ legal professionals connected over 350 public statements, Truth Social posts, and different remarks Trump has made about James over the previous six years. Another two dozen statements from Attorney General Pam Bondi, Director of DOJ’s Weaponization Working Group Ed Martin and different officers have been additionally included.
Her legal professionals mentioned if the judge doesn’t dismiss the indictment, he ought to permit them to discover their declare by ordering proof be turned over and schedule a listening to.
James was indicted final month on one rely of making false statements to a monetary establishment and one rely of financial institution fraud. Prosecutors allege she acquired a greater rate of interest on a Norfolk, Virginia, house by falsely claiming it was a second house and never an funding property. James has referred to as the expenses “baseless” and pleaded not responsible. An individual aware of the home mentioned James’ grandniece occupies the house and isn’t paying any lease.
James is individually difficult the legality of the appointment of Lindsey Halligan as the US lawyer for the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan was handpicked by Trump to serve in the position after the earlier US lawyer resigned underneath stress by Trump to carry the case in opposition to James regardless of doubts about its validity. A judge is listening to oral arguments subsequent week on that problem at the side of an analogous problem from one other indicted Trump enemy, former FBI Director James Comey.
James and Trump have a protracted historical past of animus. She campaigned for New York lawyer basic pledging to examine his actual property companies. Her workplace launched an investigation and filed a civil lawsuit in opposition to Trump, his eldest sons and the Trump Organization in 2022 alleging they improperly benefited by inflating the worth of properties to obtain higher charges on loans and insurance coverage. Trump testified throughout the civil trial.
A state judge discovered Trump liable and ordered him to pay greater than $350 million plus curiosity. A New York appeals court docket upheld the legal responsibility discovering however threw out the judgment discovering it “excessive.” Both Trump and James are interesting.
It’s Trump’s response to the investigation — his repeated calls that James be investigated and prosecuted — that her legal professionals spotlight to assist their movement.
“The Executive has shouted six years of direct evidence of genuine animus through a megaphone,” James’ legal professionals wrote. “The President and DOJ cannot hide behind Ms. Halligan to disguise their hand in AG James’ prosecution.”
They additionally argued it’s an improper selective prosecution as a result of DOJ has not “investigated several of the Presidents’ officials with virtually the same mortgage or residence issues alleged in the indictment.”
James can be in search of to quash a subpoena in a separate Justice Department investigation trying into her workplace’s doable civil rights violations for the investigation into Trump and the Trump Organization. In that case her legal professionals argued the subpoena is retaliatory and was issued improperly as a result of the US lawyer for the Northern District of New York, who signed the subpoena, is unlawfully serving in the position. DOJ has defended the appointment and subpoena.