Gregg Jarrett breaks down how Letitia James incriminated herself

Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett explained Thursday how Democrat Attorney General of New York Letitia James incriminated herself.

A federal grand jury in Virginia handed down charges against James on Thursday after prosecutors led by Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan brought the case forward. Appearing on “Hannity,” Jarrett said James effectively trapped herself in her own legal standards. This, after reports indicated she falsely listed her Virginia property as her primary residence to qualify for better mortgage rates while holding office.

“It is not a defense if the charges are justified, as I think they may be. She’ll also claim, of course, ‘Oh, it’s a big misunderstanding, paperwork snafu, somebody else is to blame.’ But under her own stated standard in the Trump case, she declared that is never an excuse. So she’s hoisted on her own petard, as Shakespeare would say in Hamlet,” Jarrett told host Sean Hannity.

Jarrett said that the case against James rests squarely on the paperwork she personally executed.

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“It’s a pretty serious case against her, Sean. You cannot claim an occupied residence, get a lower mortgage rate, and then rent it out. You’re cheating the lender by lying, and James actually incriminated herself. Both her mortgage and her insurance documents said she occupied it, but on an IRS records form she admitted it was purely a rental with zero personal occupancy,” Jarrett said.

Jarrett said James is now facing the same standards she once used against others, arguing that her own conduct left little room for defense.

“Well, it can’t be both. That’s illegal. Predictably, today she just whined that the law is being weaponized against her. Spare me the moral outrage. It was phony. She was the one who campaigned on the promise to get Trump, then conjured up that ludicrous case only to get slapped down by the appellate court in an epic embarrassment,” Jarrett said. “I think he or she’s going to do exactly what James Comey is doing, claim selective, vindictive prosecution, try to get the case dismissed, avoid trial entirely. But, you know, under the law the burden shifts to her to prove by clear evidence that the case has an unjustifiable motive.”

James cited scripture and vowed to fight back after a federal grand jury indicted her in Virginia, saying the case is a politically motivated attack that President Donald Trump orchestrated. She said her faith makes her “fearless” and promised to challenge the charges while continuing her duties as New York’s attorney general.

Trump tapped Halligan to lead the U.S. attorney’s office in Virginia in September after Erik Siebert stepped down amid reports he resisted pressure to file charges. Just two weeks before Halligan’s appointment, a grand jury in the same jurisdiction indicted former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing its inquiry.

In April, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) referred James to the Justice Department over accusations that she falsified information on mortgage documents. FHFA Director William Pulte alleged that in 2023, James listed a Virginia property as her main home to secure a lower mortgage rate, despite state law requiring her to maintain residency in New York as attorney general.

James, who brought a high-profile civil fraud case against Trump in 2022, previously claimed he inflated his wealth to obtain favorable loans. That case collapsed in August. The New York appeals court overturned a nearly $500 million civil fraud penalty she had won against Trump, saying the amount is “excessive.”

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