Topline
An indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James was declined by a grand jury Thursday in a mortgage fraud case against her, marking the second Trump administration-led indictment James has avoided within the last two weeks.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, speaks outside the United States District Court on Oct. 24 in Norfolk, Virginia.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Key Facts
The indictment was declined by a grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Justice Department sought to indict James after its first indictment against James was thrown out in November, as U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie ruled U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who signed the indictment, was not validly appointed.
Prosecutors can still seek a third indictment against James, who has denied wrongdoing.
What We Don’t Know:
If the DOJ will also try to reindict former FBI Director James Comey, whose charges for allegedly lying to Congress were also thrown out due to Halligan’s appointment being invalid. While bringing charges against James was more straightforward, Comey’s case is more complicated, as the statute of limitations for his comments to Congress expired in September. Federal law does allow prosecutors to bring new charges within six months of charges being dismissed despite the statute of limitations—or 60 days after any appeals process ends—but it’s unclear if that applies here. Currie suggested in a footnote to her ruling that since the government’s indictment against Comey was never valid in the first place, since Halligan wasn’t a valid prosecutor, then the six-month rule doesn’t apply, and the charges can’t be brought again. The judge’s comments aren’t binding, however, so the Trump administration could still try to bring charges again and see how it plays out in court.
