New York Attorney General Letitia James has just struck back against prosecutors and her political rivals.
James made her first public appearance since being indicted on federal fraud charges, delivering a defiant speech Monday night at a rally for New York City’s socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani that attacked their mutual political rivals.
“I will not bow. I will not break. I will not bend. I will not capitulate. I won’t give up, and I won’t give in,” James declared to applause and chants of “We love Tish” from supporters at the luxury Manhattan’s United Palace theater.
James was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury in Virginia on one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution. The charges stem from her 2020 purchase of a home in Norfolk, Virginia.
Prosecutors allege James falsely claimed on mortgage documents that a $137,000 property would be her secondary residence, allowing her to secure favorable loan terms with a 3% interest rate. Instead, she rented the property to a family of three, which should have classified it as an investment property with a mortgage rate of 3.815%.
The indictment alleges James saved approximately $18,933 in “ill-gotten gains” over the life of the 30-year loan through the lower interest rate and additional credits.
U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan, who brought the case, said James faces up to 30 years in prison per count and up to a $1 million fine on each count if convicted.
“No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” Halligan said. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”
Halligan, one of President Donald Trump’s former personal attorneys, was appointed acting U.S. attorney after the previous prosecutor, who had refused to bring charges against James, left office.
At Monday’s rally, James warned of “powerful voices trying to silence truth and punish dissent” and accused White House officials of attempting to “weaponize justice for political gain.” She did not mention Trump by name.
“We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy, the erosion of our system of government,” James said.
CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig criticized James for hypocrisy on Tuesday, noting she herself participated in political weaponization against Trump.
“To the larger point … there’s quite a bit of hypocrisy at play here. I mean, there’s very little question that Donald Trump has politically targeted Letitia James,” Honig said on CNN News Central. “But it is also true that Letitia James has politically weaponized her office against Donald Trump. So, they’re both wrong. They both targeted each other and one does not validate the other.”
Honig added that James should not be speaking publicly about her case because anything she says will be used against her in court.
James previously sued Trump and the Trump Organization in September 2022, alleging Trump overinflated his net worth by billions of dollars to receive more favorable loans. Judge Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to pay $355 million, including interest, in a February 2024 ruling. A New York appeals court later tossed the decision in August 2025.
Critics have pointed to a February 2024 social media post from James that came back to haunt her after the indictment.
“When powerful people cheat to get better loans, it comes at the expense of hardworking people. Everyday Americans cannot lie to a bank to get a mortgage, and if they did, our government would throw the book at them. There simply cannot be different rules for different people,” James wrote on X while attacking Trump.
The investigation into James began in April when Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department over suspicions that James engaged in mortgage fraud.
Ed Martin, Trump’s Justice Department weaponization chief, posted on social media after the charges were announced: “Promises made, Promises kept.”
“For years you have fought the good fight for New Yorkers, and now it’s our time to fight for you,” Mamdani told James from the stage.
The rally, titled “Our Time Has Come,” featured over 3,000 supporters and included appearances from WNBA star Natasha Cloud and comedian The Kid Mero.
James has denied all wrongdoing, and claimed she made an error while filling out a form related to the home purchase but fixed it. Her attorneys have said the case “is driven by President Trump’s desire for revenge.”
Eric Trump, the president’s son, told Newsmax the indictment represented “the ultimate irony,” accusing James of engaging in the same type of mortgage fraud schemes she once prosecuted.