New York Legal professional Normal Letitia James speaks to the media after she pleaded not responsible to expenses that she defrauded her mortgage lender, exterior the U.S. District Courtroom for the Jap District of Virginia, in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S., October 24, 2025.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
New York Legal professional Normal Letitia James has requested a federal decide to dismiss financial institution fraud expenses in opposition to her, arguing that the prosecutor who introduced and signed the indictment was unlawfully appointed and lacked authority to pursue the case.
The movement, filed in federal courtroom Friday, contends that the appointment of Lindsey Halligan as interim U.S. legal professional for the Jap District of Virginia violated federal statute and the Structure, and due to this fact the indictment have to be thrown out.
James, a longtime foe of President Donald Trump, was arraigned Oct. 24 in Norfolk, Va., and pleaded not responsible to 2 counts alleging that she misrepresented info on mortgage paperwork to safe extra favorable mortgage phrases for a 2020 house buy in Norfolk.
After the arraignment, she thanked supporters exterior the courthouse and referred to as the case a part of the Trump administration’s broader misuse of the justice system.
“This is about all of us, and about a justice system which has been weaponized. A justice system which has been used as a tool of revenge,” she stated in a press release, including that she has “no fear” and a perception that “justice will rain down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Earlier than departing for New York, James stated she intends to proceed her work whereas the case proceeds. “I will not be deterred. I will not be distracted. I will do my job each and every day,” she stated. “And that is why I am headed back to New York, because there is work to be done standing up for the rule of law.”
New York Legal professional Normal Letitia James is accompanied by lawyer Abbe Lowell, as she departs U.S. District Courtroom for the Jap District of Virginia after she pleaded not responsible to expenses that she defrauded her mortgage lender, in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S., October 24, 2025.REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Movement to dismiss
Within the 22-page submitting, James’ legal professionals argue that the U.S. Legal professional Normal’s authority to nominate an interim U.S. legal professional is proscribed to 120 days after a emptiness arises.
The movement says that the interval started Jan. 21, 2025, when Legal professional Normal Pamela Bondi appointed Erik Siebert as interim U.S. legal professional, and expired Could 21. The submitting alleges that Halligan was not appointed till Sept. 22, greater than 4 months later, rendering her appointment invalid beneath the statute.
The movement additional argues that Halligan’s function violated the Structure’s Appointments Clause, for the reason that submitting argues the statutory appointment energy had expired and she or he lacked the standing of “attorney for the government” permitted to current the case or signal the indictment.
It reads that since Halligan alone introduced the matter to the grand jury and signed the indictment, the indictment’s “flaws cannot be brushed aside as harmless error,” and asks the courtroom to dismiss the indictment and enjoin her from additional participation within the case.
“This Court must reject the Executive Branch’s brazen attempt to sidestep the constitutional and statutory limitations on the appointment of U.S. Attorneys,” James’ legal professionals wrote.
James is one in every of three officers seen as adversaries of President Trump whom the Justice Division has charged up to now month, together with former FBI Director James Comey and former Nationwide Safety Adviser John Bolton. All three have denied wrongdoing.
The fees in all three instances got here after Trump, in a Reality social media publish, publicly admonished Legal professional Normal Pam Bondi for not shifting quick sufficient to prosecute James and different foes.
“Nothing is being done. What about Comey, Adam ‘Shifty’ Schiff, and Leticia???” Trump wrote. “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility. They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!”
In 2022, James introduced a civil fraud case in opposition to Trump and his household enterprise, leading to a judgment that originally imposed a $452.2 million penalty. A state appeals courtroom overturned the penalty in August however upheld the trial courtroom’s discovering that Trump had dedicated fraud. Trump has denied wrongdoing and accused James of pursuing the case for political causes.
For the reason that begin of Trump’s second time period, James has joined different Democratic state attorneys common in suing to dam federal actions aimed toward slicing funding to New York and rolling again civil rights protections for transgender folks and immigrants.
