N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James indicted on fraud charge after pressure from Trump

Geoff Bennett:

A federal grand jury has indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on two fraud-related charges. The indictment, returned in the Eastern District of Virginia, accuses James of one count of bank fraud and one count of false statements to a financial institution. James said she will fight the charges.

Letitia James, New York Attorney General:

This is nothing more than a continuation of the president's desperate weaponization of our justice system. He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York state attorney general.

Geoff Bennett:

The indictment comes two weeks after former FBI Director James Comey was charged with lying to Congress. The James case was brought by the same prosecutor as Comey's, former Trump personal attorney Lindsey Halligan.

It marks another escalation in President Trump's use of the Justice Department to target political opponents and figures who previously investigated him.

For more, we're joined now by NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson.

So, Carrie, what more should we know about these charges?

Carrie Johnson, Justice Correspondent, NPR:

James says she's going to fight them in court. She's due in court on October 24 in Virginia, and she says she's keeping her job.

Geoff, this is a result of a monthslong investigation by federal prosecutors in Virginia. Earlier, a Republican career prosecutor had basically been forced out of his job after he concluded there was not enough evidence to indict Tish James on fraud charges related to this property she purchased in Virginia in 2020.

Instead, as you noted, he was replaced by one of Trump's former personal lawyers, who brought this case before the grand jury herself today. And it's the latest in a string of actions following the president's tweets and social media posts to use the DOJ to investigate his perceived political enemies.

Geoff Bennett:

Well, what does this case, combined with the Comey case, signal about the independence of the Justice Department and the integrity of the federal prosecutorial process under this administration?

Carrie Johnson:

Historically, presidents since Richard Nixon have tried to keep the Justice Department at least an arm's length away, or vice versa.

Since the Trump immunity decision by the Supreme Court last year, where the Supreme Court majority basically said the president can talk with the Justice Department about anything, including investigations and prosecutions, Trump has taken that line to heart and has basically in public directed the DOJ to go after people who investigated him in the past.

Trump has also said publicly these won't be the only investigations we see. And we know that the national security adviser and others have been under investigation too.

Geoff Bennett:

In the 20 seconds or so we have left, what's next? What's the timeline for this case? Is this going to move fairly quickly?

Carrie Johnson:

This is in the Rocket Docket, the Eastern District of Virginia. I do expect things to move rather quickly here. May not be a trial this year, but possibly early next year.

Geoff Bennett:

NPR's Carrie Johnson.

Carrie, our thanks to you. We appreciate it.

Carrie Johnson:

Thank you.