Justice Dept. launches probe of New York AG Letitia James for violations of Trump’s civil rights

The Justice Department has served New York Attorney General Letitia James with a pair of subpoenas as part of a grand jury investigation into her $454 million civil fraud case against President Trump.

Acting Albany U.S. Attorney John Sarcone convened the grand jury to address potential deprivation of rights allegations, following a May investigation of Ms. James that was launched in tandem with the FBI.

One of the subpoenas is tied to the civil fraud judgment won by Ms. James’ office against Mr. Trump, which is currently under review by the state’s First Appellate Division.

The other subpoena is reportedly seeking information on the New York AG’s investigation of the National Rifle Association. The subpoenas were first reported by Fox News.

“Any weaponization of the justice system should disturb every American,” a spokesperson for Ms. James said in a statement. “We stand strongly behind our successful litigation against the Trump Organization and the National Rifle Association, and we will continue to stand up for New Yorkers’ rights.”

House Republican Leadership Chairwoman Elise Stefanik of New York hailed the decision to investigate Ms. James for what she called “her abuse of power.”

“Corrupt New York Attorney General Tish James weaponized the New York Attorney General’s office to persecute President Trump,” Ms. Stefanik said in a statement.

Ms. James kept Mr. Trump in a Manhattan courtroom during the 2024 election over accusations that the family business manipulated assets on financial forms to gain favorable terms on loans and insurance.

She and her allies often declared that “no one is above the law,” as Mr. Trump navigated the legal landmines his political opponents dispatched against him from different states.

“Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and cheat the system, thereby cheating all of us,” Ms. James had said. “He did this with the help of his other defendants, his children.”

Mr. Trump says his financial statements actually understated his wealth and that any mistakes in the documents were harmless errors that played no role in banks’ lending decisions. He and his lawyers have repeatedly accused Ms. James of engaging in “lawfare” for political purposes — a claim she has denied.

The subpoenas were issued as part of an investigation into whether Ms. James violated Mr. Trump’s civil rights, another person familiar with the matter told the Associated Press. The person could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Separately, the Trump administration in April alleged that Ms. James committed mortgage fraud on two properties that she owns. William Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, sent a criminal referral to the Justice Department on Monday charging that Ms. James falsified documents and property records to obtain loans.

In one incident cited in the referral, Ms. James claimed she lived in Virginia to buy a home in Norfolk while serving as New York attorney general, where she must reside for her job.

In a separate incident, she allegedly misrepresented the description of a property she owns in Brooklyn, New York, to meet the requirements for a government-backed loan.

Ms. James called the allegations against her “baseless” and said that she was only being targeted for her lawsuit against Mr. Trump during the campaign.

“My office was successful in securing a $450 million judgment against Donald Trump and others for exaggerating the value of his assets,” Ms. James said. “I will not be silenced, I will not be bullied. I will not bend, I will not break, and I will not bow to anyone.”