New York Attorney General Letitia James says the recent allegations by a Trump administration official against her are baseless and called them “nothing more than a revenge tour.”
“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,” James said in an exclusive interview with NY1 on Thursday night. “No one is above the law, including the president of these United States. The office of the attorney general will continue to stand up.”
NY AG Letitia James accused of possible mortgage fraud
Earlier this week, CBS News New York learned federal officials referred James for criminal prosecution for alleged mortgage fraud related to properties in Virginia and New York.
William Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), wrote a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi alleging that James “has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms.”
In his letter, Pulte alleged James may have falsified her residential status at a home in Norfolk, Virginia to get a better mortgage rate.
Pulte also alleged James bought a five-family property in Brooklyn with a loan that is only available for houses with four units or less. It’s also alleged James and her father signed mortgage documents in 1983 stating they were husband and wife.
James calls the claims “baseless allegations”
When asked to address the specific allegations, James said, “I will not litigate this case [on] camera.”
“We will respond to these allegations at the appropriate time and in an appropriate way,” she said in the interview. “But I will not go back and forth with respect to these baseless allegations.”
James also said her relatives and neighbors in Virginia have been harassed.
“I love my job, each and every day I walk into this office with this fire in my belly,” she added.
In 2022, her office sued Donald Trump for years of alleged financial fraud, claiming Mr. Trump and his family participated in a conspiracy to inflate his net worth by billions of dollars in order to secure better loan rates, among other things.
A judge found the family liable and ultimately ordered Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization to pay $354 million in fines, though the actual total recently climbed to more than $500 million due to interest while he appeals.
Bondi said earlier this week she was aware of the referral for charges against James and will be reviewing it.
Renee AndersonRenee Anderson is a digital producer at CBS New York, where she covers breaking news and other local stories. Before joining the team in 2016, Renee worked at WMUR-TV.
