US grand jury declines to re-charge New York Attorney General Letitia James

After a judge previously rejected charges brought against the prominent critic of US President Donald Trump, a federal grand jury rejected prosecutors’ attempt to bring a criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Following her office’s unsuccessful prosecution of James and his family business, the Department of Justice’s second attempted prosecution of the elected Democrat against whom Trump had vowed retribution.

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After concluding that Lindsey Halligan, the federal prosecutor who secured the indictment, was a liar, US District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie dismissed the case against James in November.

James has argued that her blatant political bent is at play in the prosecution efforts. She once more called for the “unchecked weaponization of our justice system to stop,” and she once more said the accusations against her were “baseless.”

Any attempt to carry on the case, according to her attorney, Abbe Lowell, would be “a shocking assault on the rule of law and a devastating blow to the integrity of our justice system.”

According to Lowell, the grand jury’s decision to re-indict Attorney General James is a wry reject of a case that ought to have never existed in the first place.

Federal prosecutors are still reportedly planning to seek a new indictment against James despite the grand jury’s verdict, according to two unnamed sources with knowledge of the situation, according to the Reuters news agency.

Vows of repentance

A judge in 2024 ordered Trump to pay a $450m fine after James’ office discovered he had defrauded lenders by falsely claiming his net worth.

In August, a judge’s conviction that Trump had been held legally responsible for fraud was upheld by a New York state appeals court.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that the case was a part of a “witch-hunt” against him that included four criminal cases that have since been dropped after winning his first term.

Along with former FBI Director James Comey and former Trump national security adviser John Bolton, James is one of three well-known Trump critics who have been charged with federal criminal activity in recent months.

Judge Currie also dismissed a case brought by Comey, who led investigations into alleged collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, citing the same unlawful appointment that Halligan received.