Lawyer who prosecuted Trump faces fraud charges herself - here's what we know

New York Attorney General Letitia James has been criminally indicted on federal bank fraud charges over a property she purchased in Virginia.

US President Donald Trump has pushed his officials to legally pursue James, among other political opponents of his.

James denies any wrongdoing, calling the case a "desperate weaponisation of our justice system". A similar accusation was made against her by Trump and his allies when James won a civil fraud case against him in 2023.

Here is what we know about the case against James - and a recap of the one she led against Trump.

The US Department of Justice (DoJ) says James has been charged with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.

The charges relate to James's three-bedroom property in Norfolk, Virginia.

Prosecutors allege she secured a mortgage claiming the property as her secondary residence, while her primary residence was in Brooklyn, New York. Instead, she rented out the property to a family of three, according to court documents.

The prosecution alleges that James was required to occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, not as a rental investment property, in order to secure a favourable loan.

Prosecutors allege she saved $18,933 (£14,229) through this "misrepresentation", including by securing a lower interest rate.

"No one is above the law," US Department of Justice attorney Lindsey Halligan said in a statement.

James has previously said she made an error while filling out paperwork for the property, which was then corrected. She has called the charges "baseless" and has taken aim directly at Trump.

"He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York State attorney general," she said.

James's attorney Abbe Lowell later said she would "fight these charges in every process allowed in the law". Lowell added: "We are deeply concerned that this case is driven by President Trump's desire for revenge."

Legal action against James had been expected, after Trump named her in a list of political opponents he wanted his administration to legally pursue.

"We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility," the president wrote last month in a Truth Social post.

"They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!)" he said of those opponents.

Former FBI director James Comey and Democratic Senator Adam Schiff were also mentioned in Trump's post.

Within a few days, Mr Comey was charged with making false statements to lawmakers and obstructing a congressional proceeding. He has pleaded not guilty.

The bank fraud case against James was floated publicly in April, when a letter penned by the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) was obtained by US media. It said the FHFA had made a criminal referral to the justice department, alleging James had falsified her bank and property records.

Trump's case hit a bump when the lawyer overseeing federal prosecutions in the Eastern District of Virginia, Erik Siebert, resigned in September.

Although Siebert did not provide a reason for quitting, Trump said he was "fired" after he said "we had no case" against James.

Trump appointed to the position his former personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan - who is accused by James of being "blindly loyal not to the law, but to the president".

Trump and James have stared each other down in court before.

James launched a civil fraud case against Trump and his company in 2022.

The court found the following year that Trump had been liable for overstating the value of his business assets to obtain favourable loans.

Throughout the trial, Trump denied wrongdoing and repeatedly referred to the case as a "witch hunt".

Following a ruling ordering Trump to pay $500m (£375m), James said: "Today, we prove that no one is above the law. No matter how rich, powerful, or politically connected you are."

But Trump appealed against the ruling, and in August 2025, a court threw out the $500m penalty against him, which the president called a "total victory".

However, the same court upheld Trump's fraud liability and did not throw out the non-financial penalties.

James's office said it would appeal against the overturned penalty.

Public scuffles between Trump and James stretch back to the 2018 contest for New York's attorney general, which happened during Trump's first term in the White House.

During her campaign to become the state's top law enforcement officer, James called Trump an "illegitimate" president.

Trump was even mentioned during her victory speech on election night. "He [Trump] should know that we here in New York - and I, in particular - we are not scared of you," she told cheering supporters.

James has also mocked Trump's 1987 best-selling self-help book when describing his alleged fraud.

"Claiming that you have money that you do not have, does not amount to the Art of the Deal," she said, referring to the book's title. "It's the art of the steal."

The pair have sparred on social media for years, and Trump has responded to his opponent with name-calling.