Grand Jury Rejects Second Attempt to Revive Case Against Letitia James:

A federal grand jury has rejected prosecutors’ latest attempt to revive a criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James. This marks the second time the U.S. Department of Justice has failed to bring charges against her, following a judge’s earlier decision to dismiss the case entirely. Letitia James, a Democrat, has long been a major critic of former U.S. President Donald Trump. Her office previously led the civil fraud lawsuit that resulted in major financial penalties against him. Because of this, James has often said she believes the criminal cases brought against her are politically motivated and meant as retaliation. The earlier case against James was thrown out in November by U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie. The judge ruled that the federal prosecutor who brought the charges, Lindsey Halligan, had been unlawfully appointed and therefore lacked the proper authority. This decision made the indictment invalid. On Thursday, after the grand jury again refused to re-indict her, James repeated that the accusations were “baseless.” She said the repeated attempts to prosecute her show the “unchecked weaponization of our justice system” and called for it to stop immediately. James’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, strongly criticized the prosecutors’ efforts. He said that continuing to pursue charges would be “a shocking assault on the rule of law” and would damage public trust in the justice system. Lowell added that the grand jury’s decision was “a decisive rejection of a case that should never have existed.” Despite this latest setback, federal prosecutors are reportedly planning to try again. According to a Reuters report citing two unnamed sources, they are preparing to seek a new indictment against James. This suggests the legal battle may continue even after two failed attempts. Letitia James became a major target of Trump’s criticism after her office brought a civil fraud case against him and the Trump Organization. In 2024, a judge ruled that Trump had overstated his net worth to mislead banks and lenders. The court ordered him to pay a $450 million penalty. However, in August, a New York state appeals court dismissed the large financial penalty while still agreeing that Trump had committed fraud. Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and claims all cases against him are part of a political “witch-hunt.” He points to the fact that several criminal cases against him were dropped after his first term. James is not the only outspoken Trump critic who has faced federal charges in recent months. Former FBI Director James Comey and former National Security Adviser John Bolton—both known critics of Trump—were also charged. The case against Comey was dismissed in November for the same reason as James’s case: the unlawful appointment of prosecutor Lindsey Halligan. Bolton, meanwhile, has pleaded not guilty to charges of sharing sensitive government information with relatives and keeping documents that contained classified material. The ongoing attempts to prosecute these high-profile figures have fueled a heated national debate about politics, justice, and the limits of federal power.

NEWS