They cited a property in Virginia that James allegedly claimed as her principal residence and a property in New York she claimed as a four-unit structure instead of five, which he said could mean she was able to get a different and more favorable loan. Fox News contributor and George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley told Fox News host Laura Ingraham the irony of James getting accused of falsifying records is "perfectly crushing." "This is a person who prosecuted Trump for everything short of ripping a label off a mattress, and among the charges that were brought in New York, in just the civil but the criminal case, was making false or misleading statements to financial institutions," Turley said. "As for James, if we apply the Letitia James standard that she created, there'd be little question here. This seems pretty straightforward."
He explained the Trump administration is saying this was not her principal residence because, as a New York elected official, she has to say her principal residence is in New York. "The Supreme Court just stated earlier in March, in a case called Thompson, that they want to see knowing false statements under sections, like 10-14, not just misleading statements," Turley said. "These are misleading statements. Either it's your principal residence or it's not. Either you're married to your father or he's your father." The DOJ and James did not respond to Fox News on the matter. The issue has been prosecuted in the past, but as Turley said on the Ingraham Angle, the "documents themselves are quite damning."
π¨πΊπΈ LETITIA JAMES' MORTGAGE NIGHTMARE: FEDS REFER NY'S TOP PROSECUTOR TO DOJ
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 16, 2025
Federal Housing Director William Pulte formally refers NY Attorney General Letitia James to Justice Department for criminal investigation over alleged mortgage fraud.
FHFA letter claims James… https://t.co/gasQalIMG3 pic.twitter.com/QY2mBxcMw5
"While this was a long time ago, it raises serious concerns about the validity of Ms. James' representations on mortgage applications," Pulte reportedly wrote. James brought forth a civil fraud suit against President Donald Trump, the Trump Organization and its senior leadership in 2022, frequently sitting in the courtroom throughout the proceedings and celebrating the prosecution of Trump in the Manhattan criminal trial over the 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Trump was ordered to pay a $454 million civil fraud judgment in James’ lawsuit against him, which is currently on appeal. So far in 2025, James has spearheaded at least five legal actions against the Trump administration, including leading a coalition of state attorneys general to sue the federal government to halt DOGE’s access to the Treasury Department’s internal systems, and another lawsuit related to the Trump administration slashing grant funding to research institutions and universities.