New York Attorney General Letitia James has publicly acknowledged that her office was “ready on day one” to bog down President Donald Trump’s new administration in the court system.
James told MSNBC on Thursday that there was a coordinated legal strategy among Democratic state attorneys general designed to challenge all the new administration’s policies, even as she herself faces a federal criminal investigation initiated by Trump administration officials.
James detailed extensive preparations her office made to challenge Trump’s executive orders during an appearance on “The Briefing”.
“We’ve analyzed Project 2025, we’ve analyzed jurisdiction and venue, we’ve analyzed its causes and claims, and we’ve distributed a number of cases to all of the Democratic attorneys general,” James said, highlighting that her office responded in just 24 hours to Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order.
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into James, following a criminal referral from Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte.
The probe centers on allegations that James committed fraud when she misrepresented a single-family home in Virginia as her primary residence to obtain more favorable loan terms and misrepresented the number of livable units in a Brooklyn property.
James became a national figure over her unprecedented prosecution of Trump and his businesses, alleging “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” over financial statements, which initially resulted in a $454 million civil penalty that was later significantly reduced.
The escalating legal battle between James and the Trump administration caused an outburst during a town hall meeting Thursday night when a Trump supporter confronted James, asking if she would “apologize to President Trump for wasting millions of dollars and the state of New York for a witch trial?”
The man was escorted out amid boos from the heavily Democrat crowd.
🚨BREAKING: Letitia James was just called out to her face at a Town Hall over allegations of mortgage fraud and her witch hunt against President Trump.
She snapped—and had the man thrown out:
ATTENDEE: “Will you apologize to President Trump for wasting millions of dollars and… pic.twitter.com/UWXaKnvgqH
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) May 9, 2025