Althouse: "The Trump administration has begun to scrutinize the real estate transactions of New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, in what could be the opening move..."

April 16, 2025

"The Trump administration has begun to scrutinize the real estate transactions of New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, in what could be the opening move..."

"... of President Trump’s first investigation into one of his foremost adversaries. The head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency sent a criminal referral letter to the Department of Justice this week, saying that Ms. James 'appeared to have falsified records' related to properties she owns in Virginia and New York in order to receive favorable loan terms.... When purchasing the Virginia residence, Ms. James signed notarized paperwork attesting that she would use it as a principal residence.... The referral letter also accused Ms. James of misrepresenting the number of units in a Brooklyn home she purchased in 2001, possibly in order to receive better interest rates.....The month before Ms. James’s lawsuit against Mr. Trump went to trial, anonymous complainants began to file documents with New York City’s Department of Buildings, several of them related to the number of units in the home.... One of the complaints, in October 2024, asked why Ms. James was 'NOT being prosecuted for fraud and filling false documents when other people have been persecuted for far less crimes,' then added a pointed question: 'a Double Standard???'"

From "Trump Official Scrutinizes N.Y.’s Attorney General Over Real Estate/The head of a U.S. housing agency told prosecutors that Letitia James appeared to have falsified real estate records, a move that could be the start of an investigation of a key Trump adversary" (NYT).

82 comments:

RCOCEAN II said...: Good. if she did the crime, she should do the time. No mercy for the merciless.; 4/16/25, 3:26 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: BTW, did the NYT's ever state that James' prosecution of Trump was politically motivated? Or that she was going after Trump - her political enemy? Or was it always phrased as "Republicans have charged..." because here it stated that Trump is just going after her because she's a political enemy.; 4/16/25, 3:29 PM
Readering said...: Statute of limitations? Icarus vibe.; 4/16/25, 3:30 PM
Mason G said...: According to the New York Post,

"The referral also includes a claim that James filed papers that listed herself and her father as a married couple."

So there's that.; 4/16/25, 3:30 PM
Aggie said...: Wow, she's quite a landlord there. Where did the money come from, to underwrite this empire?; 4/16/25, 3:33 PM
john mosby said...: Readering, ref SoL: If she's still making mortgage or tax payments somehow reduced by the alleged long-ago fraud, the crime is ongoing.

JSM; 4/16/25, 3:34 PM
Aggie said...: ....and I absolutely can't wait to start hearing about the mortgages. How did she place a value, and are we sure she was accurate, that she didn't attempt fraud by mis-stating the value of her collateral? It's not a 'victimless crime', you know, even if she paid the loans. And: Let's discuss her interest rates, she didn't get 'favorable treatment' because of her position - right?; 4/16/25, 3:35 PM
Breezy said...: What Aggie said….

Also, how do people become so frigging arrogant and dumb at the same time? She dared justice to come after her.; 4/16/25, 3:38 PM
Jupiter said...: For the record, I first read about this a week or two ago, in the Gateway Pundit, in a piece written by Joel Gilbert, the private investigator who discovered and wrote about the fraud Benjamin Crump perpetrated on the Florida courts during the Trayvon Martin hoax. I doubt that the Trump administration sent him after James. I am fairly sure the flow of information went in the other direction.; 4/16/25, 3:40 PM
mccullough said...: Federal jury in Norfolk then two years cutting hotdogs in the federal penitentiary.

Cry Racism, Letitia; 4/16/25, 3:46 PM
n.n said...: So, her prosecution was motivated through projection? Go after Trump with a handmade tale, and they won't look at me, too.; 4/16/25, 3:48 PM
mindnumbrobot said...: Breezy said... "She dared justice to come after her."

She's small potatoes. The political powers out to destroy Trump don't care about her. She served her purpose.; 4/16/25, 3:50 PM
FullMoon said...: "Jupiter said...
For the record, I first read about this a week or two ago, in the Gateway Pundit, in a piece written by Joel Gilbert..."

Yeah, me too. Seemed kind of a reach, tho be honest. Hope there really is something there.; 4/16/25, 3:54 PM
Dave Begley said...: Did the NYT report that AG James claimed that her father is her husband?

This is a slam dunk case. AG James is going to be disbarred, financially ruined and in the slammer. No one is above the law, lady.; 4/16/25, 3:55 PM
Tank said...: Classic Tucker Carlson Rule Example. Except it looks like she's actually guilty.; 4/16/25, 3:55 PM
hawkeyedjb said...: Dave Begley said...
"AG James is going to be disbarred, financially ruined and in the slammer."

I doubt it, but who knows? Predictions are hard, especially about the future (Yogi Berra?); 4/16/25, 3:58 PM
Dave Begley said...: If Martha Steward can be sent to a federal prison, so can AG James.; 4/16/25, 4:00 PM
Larry J said...: We’ve been told that no one is above the law. Does that also apply to Democrats?; 4/16/25, 4:01 PM
Mason G said...: "She's small potatoes. The political powers out to destroy Trump don't care about her. She served her purpose."

Those political powers depend on the small potatoes to do their dirty work for them. If the potatoes get it into their heads that they're expendable, it'll make it increasingly difficult for the powers to recruit fresh potatoes.; 4/16/25, 4:10 PM
Enigma said...: Lawfare dies in trench warfare? The USA has culturally lagged Europe by about 50 years. The Federal government and courts now freeze on EU-style legal rules for taking a poop and pee. But, each poop has its own unique terroir.; 4/16/25, 4:11 PM
boatbuilder said...: As I said before, I will find this all highly amusing, until it gets dismissed by a "principled" Republican judge.

Which it should be, as the outrageous prosecutions and judicially sanctioned harassment of Donald Trump should have been. James should be disbarred for THAT, and the political games should stop.

But if anyone deserves payback, it's Letitia James and her willing henchman, Judge Merchan. Along with the New York Bar Association.

On second thought, lock her up!; 4/16/25, 4:12 PM
boatbuilder said...: And Readering bleats about the Statute of Limitations.

Haven't you heard? That doesn't apply to political prosecutions anymore.; 4/16/25, 4:14 PM
Original Mike said...: "When purchasing the Virginia residence, Ms. James signed notarized paperwork attesting that she would use it as a principal residence.... "

It seems pretty cut and dried that this is a falsehood, if she was employed in New York at the time. The only question is motivation. Is it the case she would receive a better interest rate if this were her primary residence?; 4/16/25, 4:17 PM
Dave Begley said...: Interest rate -gate.; 4/16/25, 4:19 PM
Original Mike said...: Didn't New York "repeal" the statue of limitations in order to get Trump on the sexual assault case?

How anyone can claim with a clear conscience that Trump is not a victim of persecution by lawfare is beyond me. (I'm looking at you, Readering.); 4/16/25, 4:21 PM
Earnest Prole said...: Live by the lawfare sword, die by the lawfare sword.; 4/16/25, 4:26 PM
n.n said...: Choose to tell a handmade tale, make yourself a "burden", get scalped in a Karma-lic event.; 4/16/25, 4:32 PM
Big Mike said...: Kimberly Gardner in Missouri. Marilyn Mosby in Baltimore. Fani Willis in Georgia. And now Letitia James in New York. Is there any such thing as a female Democrat attorney who is honest?; 4/16/25, 4:38 PM
William said...: Sauce for the goose. Sauce for the gander. Fowl and indigestion for everyone.; 4/16/25, 4:39 PM
Paul said...: As you roll a stone so shall it be rolled back to you. - Proverbs 26:27; 4/16/25, 4:48 PM
Gerda Sprinchorn said...: How does this play out?

People who want to end political prosecutions want both sides to stop it. But how do we get there? I haven't heard a single mainstream Democrat express any concern about the prosecutions of Trump. There were at least some Republicans who didn't want to prosecute Hillary in 2017 including Trump who actually decided not to prosecute her.

But now, are there enough sane people in the center that can stop this? Is it Trump's plan to propose a ceasefire after he has shown Democrats what its like to be on the receiving end? Maher and John Stewart are potential sane people on the left.; 4/16/25, 4:48 PM
Original Mike said...: But Gerda, so far, in this case, it looks like James is guilty. Are you suggesting she should be given a pass because she's a politician?; 4/16/25, 4:54 PM
Wince said...: Is this why James was so quick to pursue tariff-pause insider trading allegations in order to deflect?; 4/16/25, 4:55 PM
William50 said...: If this ever goes to trial where would it be held? I don't see a conviction if the trial were held in New York city or northern Virginia.; 4/16/25, 4:56 PM
Harun said...: This is how we will get upright officials.; 4/16/25, 4:58 PM
Lawnerd said...: I don’t want to live in a banana republic. Not a big fan of this, just as I was not a fan of the lawfare against Trump. It needs to end, but I understand Trump’s desire to prosecute just wish he could show mercy as a means of ending this shit.; 4/16/25, 4:58 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Lawnerd- the only this shit ends is when the pain becomes too much for the Democrats. That point is far off in time.; 4/16/25, 5:01 PM
Iman said...: If it’s good for the Gander, it’s double-plus good for teh M00se!; 4/16/25, 5:02 PM
Freder Frederson said...: But Gerda, so far, in this case, it looks like James is guilty. Are you suggesting she should be given a pass because she's a politician?

That was Althouse's suggestion as to the charges against Trump.; 4/16/25, 5:04 PM
Iman said...: I’d thought ill-head Omar marrying her brother was a shocker, but Tish the M00se marrying her pops tops that.; 4/16/25, 5:07 PM
Mason G said...: "That was Althouse's suggestion as to the charges against Trump."

Trump didn't get a pass, did he?

This shit won't stop until the Democrats have been served enough of what they're happy to dish out that they can't take it any more.

So... not yet.; 4/16/25, 5:08 PM
Freder Frederson said...: Didn't New York "repeal" the statue of limitations in order to get Trump on the sexual assault case?

No, that law was broad and Trump's was just one of over 3000 cases brought.; 4/16/25, 5:08 PM
rhhardin said...: The lawfare here is in looking for a crime. The lawfare against Trump was in trumping it up.; 4/16/25, 5:08 PM
Harun said...: Gerda,

I think its extremely important that attorneys and especially prosecutors don't break the law, especially by lying blatantly. OFC, she is welcome to hire an expensive defense attorney and tell us her side.

And no, I don't think VA or NY is that safe for a prosecutor who broke the law.; 4/16/25, 5:08 PM
Original Mike said...: "No, that law was broad and Trump's was just one of over 3000 cases brought."

Oh, Freder. You're such a clown.; 4/16/25, 5:13 PM
Skeptical Voter said...: Is there any method by which Pam Bondi can turn that lie on a FHA application into 34 felonies? I mean Ms. James and Alvin Bragg have shown the way in creative "lawyering". FAFO; 4/16/25, 5:13 PM
Readering said...: original mike, i've never defended the ny prosecution that i expect to be reversed. trump willfully brought on the federal documents prosecution that he could have easily avoided by returning the documents. the federal election prosecution was warranted but biden should have pardoned trump on both crimes once his own and his son's screw ups were exposed.; 4/16/25, 5:16 PM
Lawnerd said...: It is an endless cycle then. Trump serves up a case of ass whopping with the aim of future deterrence but the Dems of the future seek vengeance. And the next thing you know we live in a banana republic.; 4/16/25, 5:21 PM
Mason G said...: "And the next thing you know we live in a banana republic."

Some might say that ship has sailed. Democrats didn't have to push things to this point, but they did. The question now is how "banana-y" is it going to get?; 4/16/25, 5:30 PM
Mr. D said...: Lawnerd said...
I don’t want to live in a banana republic. Not a big fan of this, just as I was not a fan of the lawfare against Trump. It needs to end, but I understand Trump’s desire to prosecute just wish he could show mercy as a means of ending this shit.

and

It is an endless cycle then. Trump serves up a case of ass whopping with the aim of future deterrence but the Dems of the future seek vengeance. And the next thing you know we live in a banana republic.

We got to the banana republic thing a while back. And you don't stop the cycle by going all Marquess of Queensbury on the deal. I'd love a better world, too, but you have to live in the world as it is. And United Fruit is in the house.; 4/16/25, 5:31 PM
Gerda Sprinchorn said...: @ Lawnerd, Readering, Original Mike, et al.

One person that could have done a lot to stop this is Biden, but he chose to be petty instead.

When Biden issued all those pardons, he explicitly talked about the downsides of lawfare. What he said could have been written by Trump just with different names. But Biden chose not to. He had a chance to rise to the level of a statesman who cared about his country (or at least pretended to). But he didn't. It would have taken so little for him to do it, but he didn't even have that much decency in him.; 4/16/25, 5:36 PM
n.n said...: Letitia prosecuted through a bray and spray model. Hopefully, the government will not emulate the Democratic hope casting.; 4/16/25, 5:37 PM
Original Mike said...: "One person that could have done a lot to stop this is Biden, but he chose to be petty instead."

Stop it? He started it! And I have yet to see Trump continuing it. The action against James, at this point, appears to be justified.

Trump could have legitimately gone after Hillary (her email actions were egregious) yet he didn't. I see no symmetry on this topic.; 4/16/25, 5:52 PM
Harun said...: Imagine no Trump.

You'd still want this prosecutor tried.; 4/16/25, 5:54 PM
Lazarus said...: Letitia James allegedly listed her father as her husband as fraud accusations take wild turn.

Daddy's girl with Daddy issues?; 4/16/25, 5:59 PM
MJ said...: Those political powers depend on the small potatoes to do their dirty work for them. If the potatoes get it into their heads that they're expendable, it'll make it increasingly difficult for the powers to recruit fresh potatoes.

This is why left wing control of academia is critical. Any left winger who sufficiently advances the cause will be found a sinecure within academia as Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorhn were.

This is one reason defunding the NGO system and the politically controlled funds surrounding academia is so critical.; 4/16/25, 6:50 PM
john mosby said...: Harun: "Imagine no Trump./You'd still want this prosecutor tried."

No Musk below him,
You'd still want Letitia fried.

JSM; 4/16/25, 6:51 PM
RCOCEAN II said...: "It needs to end, but I understand Trump’s desire to prosecute just wish he could show mercy as a means of ending this shit."

LOL - when did the Democrats showing any signs of "mercy" or "stopping this shit"? You don't stop Democrat lawfare, by letting them hit and then not hit back. You get them to stop by hitting back and showing "2 can play this game".

What James and Biden's DOJ did to Trump, an Ex-POTUS, is without precedent and broke every unwritten rule and tradition regarding Ex-POTUS for the last 100 years. No one forced Biden or James to do what they did. They could have shown mercy, they displayed none.

They are the agressor's and agrression must be punished, appeasing it doesn't stop it.; 4/16/25, 6:53 PM
Quaestor said...: RE: the revenge tag.

Letitia James led the prosecution of Donald Trump as an act of pure vengeance for defeating Hillary Clinton in 2016. All the hatred aimed at President Trump is rooted in that unexpected victory (unexpected by the MSM, but not by Trump, a man far, far more canny than his detractors dare imagine) and the subsequent black rage of the Harridan from Hell, the Borgia Princess from Little Rock.; 4/16/25, 7:01 PM
Deep State Reformer said...: The pay-per-view revenue for James's arrest & perp walk hosted live by Don Jr. could potentially be $ubstantial. IYKYK.; 4/16/25, 7:04 PM
Mason G said...: You get them to stop by hitting back and showing "2 can play this game".

From NBC News:

New York Attorney Gen.-elect Letitia James says she plans to launch sweeping investigations into President Donald Trump, his family and "anyone" in his circle who may have violated the law once she settles into her new job next month.

"We will use every area of the law to investigate President Trump and his business transactions and that of his family as well," James, a Democrat, told NBC News in her first extensive interview since she was elected last month.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/incoming-new-york-attorney-general-plans-wide-ranging-investigations-trump-n946706

She shouldn't have a problem with being treated as an equal, should she?; 4/16/25, 7:06 PM
rehajm said...: I used to believe an attorney falsifying legal documents would mean automatic disbarment. I was so naïve…; 4/16/25, 7:45 PM
rehajm said...: …at that one presser after Trump won she sounded scared. Guess she was…; 4/16/25, 7:46 PM
Justabill said...: It is quite striking how many of the recently elected Attorneys General in New York have resigned from that or subsequent office as a result of scandal. Elliot Spitzer, Andrew Cuomo, Eric Schneiderman. Quite a streak.; 4/16/25, 9:25 PM
Prof. M. Drout said...: All that matters if if she broke the law or not. Period. And that should be determined by a trial, not by some other appointed official deciding not to prosecute. There should be a "no discretion" policy with regard to people who work in the justice system. If they can't be absolutely squeaky clean, they can work in some other field. Not even the "appearance of impropriety" should be tolerated (and this goes double for judges).
We have a crisis of confidence in the justice system and although people want to chalk that up to "just politics," it's really about the people who work in the legal system having gotten used to a disgusting double standard. If people are sincere about fixing the crisis of confidence, a bunch of insiders need to be punished as severely as outsiders inevitably are.; 4/16/25, 9:36 PM
chuck said...: Trump was indited by a felon will be a nice twist to the story.; 4/16/25, 9:43 PM
Aggie said...: If people get overly upset about her conviction of fraud in a Federal court, and public sentiment shifts, then President Trump could always issue a commutation of sentence. I would hope he wouldn't pardon her though, in case she moves for re-admission to the bar. Mortgage Fraud is a Federal crime, right, if Fannie Mae is involved? Yes.... better to forgive without forgetting.; 4/16/25, 10:00 PM
Monash said...: The allegation she that listed her father as her husband (or actually herself as her father's wife) is true as a very easy search of the ACRIS database reveals:

https://a836-acris.nyc.gov/DS/DocumentSearch/DocumentImageView?doc_id=FT_4380001947438

But we've all made that mistake.; 4/16/25, 10:19 PM
OldManRick said...: Is there any method by which Pam Bondi can turn that lie on a FHA application into 34 felonies? I mean Ms. James and Alvin Bragg have shown the way in creative "lawyering". FAFO

Simple - make each mortgage payment a single crime of getting lower rates. If each payment made by Trump for a single action was a "felony", then each payment by her for a single action is the same.; 4/16/25, 11:39 PM
loudogblog said...: She can't be the Attorney General of New York if her primary residence is in Virginia. That's against the rules.; 4/17/25, 1:01 AM
gadfly said...: Trump never wins these cases in court that are based on lies and like his secretive violations of the constitution and rule of law, he will never get out of court with a win on this one either.

The man taking down our economy somehow wants to spend time getting even with the people who investigated his crimes. Sickness beyond belief!; 4/17/25, 2:50 AM
Peachy said...: Democrats are above the law. That's why they are known as Corruptocrats.; 4/17/25, 6:53 AM
Steve said...: Turnabout is fair play. If you're going after someone for real estate fraud, your records on similar manners should be as pure as the Virgin Mary.; 4/17/25, 8:17 AM
Mr. T. said...: loudogblog said...
She can't be the Attorney General of New York if her primary residence is in Virginia. That's against the rules.

But as lefties Richsockpuppet and legalistic lawyerisming expert Robert Kook keep trying to explain to us peons, the rules are (D)ifferent...; 4/17/25, 9:43 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: And Readering bleats about the Statute of Limitations.

Quite ironic seeing as we are discussing a Trump lawfare tormenter. To be fair we should prosecute Bragg for an out of statute offense AND pierce attorney-client privilege for both him and James.; 4/17/25, 9:45 AM
mikee said...: I personally know about that 5 units versus 4 units mortgage issue. It is important as a matter of legal versus illegal loan acquisition. She's ready to be cooked if the allegations are true.; 4/17/25, 11:10 AM
mikee said...: gadfly: Among the nice things about being president is that Trump doesn't have to spend his own time handling small issues like destruction of corrupt prosecutors. Trump has people to do that full time while he goes on his merry way, antagonizing China and their US supporters.; 4/17/25, 11:12 AM
bagoh20 said...: This has little to do with Trump except in our entertainment hungry culture. The AG of NY likely committed multiple crimes, and she made them interesting and impossible to bury by making herself so visible with the Trump exploitation. It all seems highly appropriate and karmatastic. Still, I have no confidence in our distorted legal system to deliver just deserts to a Democrat, no matter how corrupt.; 4/17/25, 12:55 PM
Not Illinois Resident said...: President of Chicago Teachers Union is also an employee-on-leave from Chicago Public School District, which carries a city residency requirement. CTU President is the defacto Chicago "mayor" since she controls current mayor's entire agenda and dictates his priorities. (Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, is also CTU union officer and CPS on-leave teacher, having not resigned either position to-date.) In past year, it was disclosed her legal permanent residence is South Bend, Indiana - too far for daily commute to CTU offices, and certainly not within municipal boundaries as required by City of Chicago. Since disclosure, she's neither resigned as CTU President, nor resigned from CPS District employment, unbothered. She also doesn't send her own kids to public school..

I've learned the lesson well: rules are for mere mortals; political animals operate on another planet altogether.; 4/17/25, 1:27 PM
bagoh20 said...: Looks like she doesn't live in her Virginia properties either, although taking the homestead exemption. It just keeps getting better.

https://x.com/DailyCaller/status/1912681235345793417; 4/17/25, 2:28 PM
Mason G said...: Democrats lying? Move along folks, nothing to see here.; 4/17/25, 3:09 PM
Bitter Clinger said...: Original Mike made the key point. Cries for Trump to show mercy and not prosecute James are either hopelessly naive or "civility bullshit." Trump already showed mercy by not prosecuting Hillary who clearly broke the law with her server, etc. What did that get him? The Dems merely took it as a sign of weakness.; 4/18/25, 7:48 AM