The U.S. Justice Department has again failed to secure an indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James, marking the second unsuccessful attempt in as many weeks to revive a mortgage fraud case amid President Donald Trump’s push to pursue his political opponents.
A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, rejected prosecutors’ latest effort to charge James on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the proceedings who spoke on condition of anonymity. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
James’ attorney, Abbe Lowell, condemned the continued prosecution effort, calling it damaging to the department’s credibility. “This case already has been a stain on the Department’s reputation and raises troubling questions about its integrity,” Lowell said in a statement. “Any further attempt to revive these discredited charges would be a mockery of our system of justice.”
The setback follows a similar decision last week, when a grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia, declined to indict James.
An earlier indictment returned by a grand jury in Alexandria in October on fraud-related charges was dismissed last month after a federal judge ruled that the lead prosecutor, former Trump personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan, had been illegally appointed.
The repeated rejections have left the Trump-ordered case against James in legal limbo. A separate prosecution brought by Halligan against former FBI Director James Comey is also stalled after U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie disqualified Halligan and dismissed that indictment as well.
