New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted Thursday on allegations of bank fraud less than a month after President Donald Trump ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute his political enemies.“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” James said in a video statement. “These charges are baseless, and the president’s own statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,” she said, going on to call the case a “blatant perversion of our system of justice.”Trump’s handpicked U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Lindsey Halligan, presented the case to a grand jury herself, according to The Guardian, which was first to report the news. “No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” Halligan said in a statement. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.I am not fearful — I am fearless. We will fight these baseless charges aggressively, and my office will continue to fiercely protect New Yorkers and their rights. pic.twitter.com/X9U0EsHuGM— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) October 9, 2025James pursued a civil fraud case against Trump that led a jury to levy a whopping $500 million fine against him last year, although the sum was thrown out in August on appeal. Trump is still considered liable for fraudulently describing his net worth on official records in ways that financially benefited him. Allies of the president have alleged that James misrepresented information on official paperwork about two properties she owned, a townhouse in Brooklyn and a house in Norfolk, Virginia. The indictment states that James bought the Virginia property as a secondary residence, but ended up renting it out to a family of three. That means, the document alleges, that she was able to obtain more favorable loan terms, saving around $19,000 over the life of the loan. She is charged on two counts: bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. The Justice Department noted that James faces up to 30 years in prison on each count, if convicted, along with a $1 million fine, per count. A career federal prosecutor with the Eastern District of Virginia, Elizabeth Yusi, reportedly told colleagues that there was not enough evidence to charge James just a few days ago, and planned to tell Halligan.Halligan’s predecessor, Erik Siebert, was pushed out of the job in September after resisting pressure to file charges against people Trump felt had wronged him. James said that Halligan was “blindly loyal, not to the law, but to the president,” and that this is “antithetical to the bedrock principles of our country.” “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 [sic]???” he wrote. James is now the second person to face indictment who was specifically named by Trump, after former FBI Director James Comey.Democratic elected leaders roundly condemned the news.“One U.S. Attorney already refused this case. So, Trump hand-picked an unqualified hack that would go after another political enemy,” Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on social media. “This isn’t justice. It’s revenge. And it should horrify every American who believes no one is above the law.”New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) agreed, saying, “What we’re seeing today is nothing less than the weaponization of the Justice Department to punish those who hold the powerful accountable.”