Trump’s Vendetta Prosecution of Letitia James Is a New Low

All day Thursday, I was texting with a group of friends about whether and how blue states could band together if President Trump invokes the Insurrection Act, as Santa Monica Goebbels (Stephen Miller) is clearly salivating to do. I was certain about only one thing: Democratic Attorneys General, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, are already looking at that. That group began meeting before Trump was even elected to develop legal strategies for his likely assault on the rule of law. Having seen what he’s done in eight months, they are preparing for the worst.

Now James herself is a victim of that assault. Her indictment on at least one count of mortgage fraud is far worse, in my opinion, than what happened to former FBI director James Comey, indicted this week on specious perjury charges, although that is terrible. Comey had mostly removed himself from public life; James has been at the forefront of resisting Trump. I don’t expect her to step back from that fight because of this, but I think it needs to be said: It is one of the worst things this awful president has done. (Obviously, seizing brown people off the streets and detaining them is right up there. It’s so hard to pick just one!)

It’s tough to predict the arc of the moral universe in Trump’s America, but this vendetta prosecution is almost certain to fail. For those who haven’t followed closely, earlier this year a Trump toady uncovered one document in a mortgage James was sponsoring for a relative, saying she intended to live in the property as a primary residence. All the other mortgage documents showed that she properly reported she was helping a niece buy the property, and would not reside there. Trump’s Justice Department has already weaponized similar small infractions against California Senator Adam Schiff, and Federal Reserve Board member Lisa Cook. It’s a flimsy case.

Maybe as important, Trump has publicly declared war on James, who successfully prosecuted him for business fraud. Most famously, in a Truth Social post that The Wall Street Journal reports, and the White House admits, was meant to be a private message, Trump essentially ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after James, along with Comey and Schiff:

Pam: I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that, essentially, “same old story as last time, all talk, no action. Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam “Shifty” Schiff, Leticia??? …We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!! President DJT.

This is a ludicrous, as well as vindictive, prosecution. When I first heard the news, I thought our legal correspondent, Elie Mystal, should write about it, but that would dignify this farce as meriting legal analysis. “This is somebody scrawling ‘I’m coming for you’ in blood on a bathroom wall,” Mystal texted me. “It’s not an indictment, it is a threat.”

I profiled James back in August, and centered her role in resisting Trump. Many of my sources got in touch immediately after the news broke. “Tish James was elected to protect the rights of New Yorkers and go after criminals like Donald Trump,” Eileen O’Connor, a leader of the NYCD16/15-Indivisible group, texted me. “She has done a fabulous job! The Justice Department has weaponized its power and is wasting our taxpayer money to harass Tish and others who resist tyranny.”

Higher Heights for America, a group that works to elect Black women, wrote: “Trump’s latest move against AG Letitia James is blatant political revenge, a dangerous abuse of power, and a direct attack on Black women in leadership.”

The Working Families Party’s email was pithiest. Subject line: “Hands Off Tish James.” (WFP is sponsoring a rally with that name in New York’s Foley Square at 5:30 on Friday.)

I also liked a text from a friend: “Trump done messed with the wrong Black woman.”

My immediate response to the news was anger. I thought of an exchange I had with James over coffee in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, which got left on the cutting room floor as we struggled to fit my profile into publishable length. I asked James directly: How scared should we be, of Trump and his minions? “I don’t think we should be scared,” she answered immediately. “This is the time that we should stand up and defend our rights and our liberties and defend our democracy and defend the rule of law. We’ve got to push back and not be afraid. There’s more of us than there are of them.”

A day earlier, protesters had blocked some ICE vans in lower Manhattan, and half-joking, I asked her if I should join if the protests continued.

“I would love to see that. I would defend you in court, I would be your lawyer. OK? All right. And I wouldn’t charge you. Pro bono.” I say that will relieve my daughter, and she says “Yes, tell your daughter, relax. I would get you out. Tell her, I’ve got a good lawyer. It’s gonna take a couple of hours, but I would be there for you.”

We were joking—I think—but I took seriously her commitment to urging and defending peaceful protest. We headlined the piece, “Letitia James, New York’s Bad Ass Attorney General.”

James still says she’s not afraid. I’m going to close with her whole statement, released shortly after the news of her indictment broke:

“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system. He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York State Attorney General.

“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost. The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties.  

“His decision to fire a United States Attorney who refused to bring charges against me—and replace them with someone who is blindly loyal not to the law, but to the president—is antithetical to the bedrock principles of our country. This is the time for leaders on both sides of the aisle to speak out against this blatant perversion of our system of justice.

“I stand strongly behind my office’s litigation against the Trump Organization. We conducted a two-year investigation based on the facts and evidence—not politics. Judges have upheld the trial court’s finding that Donald Trump, his company, and his two sons are liable for fraud.

“I am a proud woman of faith, and I know that faith and fear cannot share the same space. And so today I am not fearful, I am fearless, and as my faith teaches me, no weapon formed against me shall prosper. We will fight these baseless charges aggressively, and my office will continue to fiercely protect New Yorkers and their rights. And I will continue to do my job.”