New York Attorney General Letitia James asked a federal judge to dismiss the mortgage fraud case against her, claiming it was brought against her due to President Trump’s spite.
She was indicted last month on a fraud charge related to a mortgage application for a home in Virginia. She pleaded not guilty.
“The government targeted AG James for prosecution because of the President’s genuine animus towards her protected campaign speech and fulfillment of her statutory obligations as New York Attorney General,” the motion, filed Friday, said. “This indictment is the product of vindictive and selective prosecution, in violation of the Fifth Amendment.”
The 50-page motion lays out comments the president has made about Ms. James, arguing that the case arose only because she brought a fraud suit against Mr. Trump in New York.
“This lawsuit, and AG James’ outspoken criticism of the President, triggered six years of targeted attacks. President Trump and his allies have used every insulting term in their vocabulary to deride AG James and call for criminal penalties in retaliation for the exercise of her rights and fulfillment of her statutory duties to fulfill her obligations as New York state’s attorney general,” the motion said.
Mr. Trump was found guilty in the civil fraud case for inflating his business assets last year and ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars. An appeals court voided the penalty this year.
The motion lists the words the president has called Ms. James, including corrupt, crooked, disgusting, evil, racist, incompetent, weak, criminal, scum and monster.
Her lawyers argued that the Justice Department singled out Ms. James for prosecution “while ignoring apparent inconsistencies in the mortgage records of numerous other public officials.”
The lawyers added, “The only meaningful difference between AG James and these individuals is that AG James is a Democratic Attorney General who spoke out against the President, while the others are his allies and cabinet members.”
The motion mirrors that of former FBI Director James Comey, who has pleaded not guilty to making false statements and obstructing Congress. His lawyers also argued the case was “vindictive and selective prosecution.”
Both Ms. James and Mr. Comey were charged by Lindsey Halligan, the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Ms. Halligan was appointed to her position by Mr. Trump after his previous choice, Erik Siebert, was forced out for declining to bring charges against Ms. James.
They’re not the only two Trump enemies to have been investigated. John Bolton, a former national security adviser to Mr. Trump who turned against the president, was indicted last month by a federal grand jury in Maryland over allegations he unlawfully retained classified information.
