Federal investigators are continuing their legal probe into New York Attorney General Letitia James’ real estate dealings while a former top official from her office has accused her of abusing her prosecutorial powers.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the Bureau is continuing to investigate James’ real estate transactions during a recent Fox News interview.
“This case, I can tell you, is being handled by our professional pros who are subject matter experts, reporting directly to headquarters, which reports to (Deputy Director Dan Bongino) and I,” Patel said.
A grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia has issued subpoenas examining whether James committed fraud on mortgage applications, according to a source familiar with the case. The investigation follows allegations from Federal Housing Finance Authority Director Bill Pulte, who claimed James made false statements on property records.
James’ attorney, Abbe Lowell, called the allegations “threadbare” and acknowledged only “insignificant” mistakes on some records. He accused Pulte of cherry-picking documents while ignoring accurate ones in the same files.
On social media, one user claims there’s significant proof that James committed fraud —
Absolute PROOF that NY AG Letitia James knowingly committed mortgage FRAUD.
She legally certified she would move into a small apartment complex and she never did.
Owner occupied residences save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest.
She's COOKED. pic.twitter.com/N9ueg7VwhZ
— Mila Joy (@MilaLovesJoe) June 17, 2025
Meanwhile, Brian Ginsberg, who served as assistant New York solicitor general under James from 2019 through 2022, has urged the Supreme Court to rein in his former boss for what he describes as abuse of power.
In a May 12 filing, Ginsberg asked the Supreme Court to take up a case involving James’s lawsuit against a western New York school district to “disabuse opportunistic attorneys general” like James from misusing their legal powers.
“The same New York State Attorney General who initiated this action against the School District has been judicially chastised for abusing her power to initiate representative actions to launch ‘predatory lawsuits that seek to impose punishment while searching for a crime,'” Ginsberg wrote, citing comments from New York supreme court justice Emilio Colaiacovo.
Adding to James’ legal battles, Elon Musk’s social media company X Corp sued her in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday. The lawsuit challenges New York’s “Stop Hiding Hate” law, which requires social media platforms to publish their content moderation rules and file twice-yearly reports to the attorney general.
“This is not a role that the government may play,” X Corp wrote in its filing, arguing the law violates the First Amendment by forcing platforms to reveal how they police user speech.
These legal struggles for James comes amid ongoing tension between her office and President Donald Trump. In 2022, James sued Trump and his business, resulting in a penalty exceeding $450 million, which Trump has appealed. Trump revoked James’ security clearance in March.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., pointed to what she called the “hypocrisy” in the allegations against James, saying: “Tish James allegedly committed the same crime that she falsely and illegally prosecuted President Donald Trump for.”
Lowell has characterized the federal investigation as “political retribution President Trump threatened.”
James has tapped into taxpayer funds to cover her legal expenses, according to a spokesperson.