NEW YORK (WABC) — New York Attorney General Letitia James has declared her innocence, and labeled the mortgage fraud charges against her as “baseless.”
On Thursday, James’ legal team said in paperwork it plans to ask a federal judge to dismiss the charges on the grounds that the U.S. Attorney in Eastern Virginia who obtained the indictment was unlawfully appointed.
Her legal team made the move the day before the attorney general is scheduled to be arraigned in the U.S. District Court in Norfolk, Virginia, where she is expected to plead not guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution.
Lindsey Halligan was appointed by President Donald Trump last month as U.S. Attorney for Virginia’s Eastern District, after her predecessor was forced out of his job after he expressed concerns with the strength of the evidence against both James and former FBI Director James Comey.
Comey has also since been indicted in the same district on charges of obstructing Congress and making a false statement. He is making a similar argument in his case.
Meantime, a rally was held Thursday night in Lower Manhattan in support of New York Attorney General Letitia James ahead of her arraignment.
Several prominent elected officials put their support behind James at the rally in Foley Square, including Governor Kathy Hochul, Democratic nominee for mayor Zohran Mamdani, Congressman Adriano Espaillat, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Congressman Dan Goldman.
“If they can do this to the attorney general of a state like New York, heaven help the rest of us, cause they can come after anyone,” Hochul said.
James became Trump’s sworn enemy after she prosecuted his family for fraud and won.
“He made it very very clear he’s going to go after his enemies,” Williams said. “He made it very very clear he’s going to find somebody who does that, irrespective of whether it is the right thing to do.”
The rally comes as James and her legal team look to challenge the indictment, which accuses the attorney general of her of using a home in Norfolk, Virginia, as a “rental investment property” while claiming it would be her “secondary residence,” saving herself allegedly potentially $19,000 over the life of the loan.
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