The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into mortgage fraud allegations against New York Attorney General Letitia James, who US President Donald Trump has publicly targeted because she pursued legal action against him, several American media outlets reported on Thursday.
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James has joined attorneys general from other states in challenging Trump’s second-term agenda. After Trump’s first term in office, she brought a civil fraud lawsuit against him that resulted in millions of dollars of penalties.
Trump has called for the prosecution of James and New York State Justice Arthur Engoron, the judge who oversaw that case.
Last month, Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, a Trump appointee, sent a letter to the US Justice Department alleging James “falsified records” to obtain favourable loans on a home she bought in 2023 in Virginia and Brooklyn, the New York Post reported.
In a statement, James’ lawyer Abbe Lowell called the allegations “baseless and long-discredited”. “This appears to be the political retribution President Trump threatened to exact,” Lowell said. “If prosecutors are genuinely interested in the truth, we are prepared to meet false claims with facts.”
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The Washington Post said it is believed to be the first criminal investigation by the administration involving a law enforcement official who took action against Trump.
