September 26, 2025
Former lead U.S. attorney Erik Siebert abruptly resigned in mid-September 2025 after admitting there wasn’t enough evidence to support charges against James.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is proceeding with its investigation into mortgage fraud allegations against New York Attorney General Letitia James, amid pressure from President Donald Trump, but is struggling to substantiate the claims, Yahoo! Finance reports.
The case will be handled through the Eastern District of Virginia, led by senior Justice Department official Ed Martin, after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte alluded that James may have committed mortgage fraud due to the residence status listed on applications. Almost identical to the probe against Federal Reserve board member Lisa Cook, James has denied any wrongdoing.
However, the proceeding is at a standstill due to a shakeup at the DOJ. One of Trump’s top aides, Lindsey Halligan, took over Virginia’s U.S. attorney’s office after the former lead, Erik Siebert, abruptly resigned in mid-September 2025 after admitting there wasn’t enough evidence to support charges against James. The admission prompted Trump to lash out on his Truth Social platform, calling on U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to step in. “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,” the president wrote.
“JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
According to CNN, prosecutors are investigating whether James knowingly made false statements on a loan application, listing a property in Virginia as her primary residence, since May 2025. However, nothing seems to be sticking. Collected documentation from James’ legal team proves that James repeatedly stated the property wouldn’t be her permanent residence. One reviewed email showed that the NY attorney general wrote, “This property WILL NOT be my primary residence.”
Other mortgage forms reveal that when asked if the home would be her primary residence, she checked “NO.”
In a statement, James’s attorney, Abbe Lowell, slammed Trump’s probe, calling it a “revenge tour.” “It’s no surprise they are having trouble finding an objective and law-abiding prosecutor who would ignore the facts and the evidence to manufacture sham charges,” Lowell said.
James is also the subject of a grand jury investigation in Albany, facing accusations of deprivation of rights, defined as the violation of someone’s constitutional rights, against Trump. Martin is also leading investigative efforts into a property James owns in New York, personally visiting the property in August 2025 and posing for photos outside.
The attorney general has been a vocal critic of Trump, successfully spearheading cases against him prior to his 2024 presidential campaign. During a Nov. 14, 2024, civil fraud case, Trump lashed out against James, calling her “racist” due to her visibly smirking in court. “Racist A.G. Letitia James is smirking all day long from her seat in Court,” Trump wrote.
“You have a (Trump-Hating!) Attorney General who’s seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages when not a single penny was lost by these banks, and that’s part of this (Unconstitutional!) Law. You can see from the reaction of A.G. James, every morning from that seat, that she is enjoying this, enjoying it a bit too much.”
RELATED CONTENT: So Much For Mortgage Fraud? Lisa Cook’s Bank Records Undercut Trump’s Case
