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New York Attorney General Letitia James pleaded not guilty to federal bank fraud charges on Friday, following an indictment earlier this month alleging she engaged in bank fraud and made false statements to a financial institution.
“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 told the press after making her plea.
AG James, who aggressively pursued a civil fraud case against President Donald Trump during the election season, has been on the receiving end of a string of recent legal losses.
Earlier this year, a New York state appeals court terminated a half-a-billion-dollar fraud penalty imposed on the president last year in the case she brought against him, in a massive victory for Trump.
The president wrote in August, “I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State…The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before.”
James, who called the justice system “weaponized” on Friday, ran her AG campaign on a platform of going after President Trump.
As reported by RSBN, James was captured on video making statements promising to “sue him” and be “a real pain in the ass” before she took office as the attorney general.
According to Axios, James’s not guilty plea this week precedes a tentative trial date set for January 26, 2026.
As for James’s outlook on the situation, per the outlet, she noted in a statement, “I have this belief in the justice system and the rule of law. And I have a belief in America and all of its individuals who have stood with me — not only in New York but all across this nation.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia noted earlier this month that, if convicted, James faces penalties including up to 30 years in prison per count, as well as up to a $1 million fine for each.
