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New York Attorney General Letitia James said President Donald Trump's administration's federal criminal referral against her for instances of alleged mortgage fraud was "baseless" during Spectrum NY1's 'Inside City Hall' on Thursday (April 17).
“Let me just say to all New Yorkers and to all Americans: The allegations are baseless. The allegations are nothing more than a revenge tour,” James told NY1 political anchor Errol Louis.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte accused James, a Democrat who famously filed a civil lawsuit against the Trump Organization and worked with the Manhattan district attorney's office in its criminal investigation of the organization, of having "falsified records" to get home loans for a property in Virginia, which she allegedly claimed was her "principal residence" in 2023, despite serving as New York state prosecutor, in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. The alleged incident occurred in late August 2023, just prior to the beginning of the civil fraud trial against the Trump Organization, which concluded with a $454 million judgment.
James is also accused of purchasing a five-family dwelling in Brooklyn in February 2001, however, “consistently misrepresented the same property as only having four units in both building permit applications and numerous mortgage documents and applications,” according to the letter. Several documents attached to the letter listed James' father as a co-signer, but falsely identified their relationship as "husband and wife" in 1983 and 2000.
“As you know, as any good attorney, I will not litigate this case in a camera. It is important that we respond to these allegations at the appropriate time and in an appropriate way,” James said on Thursday.