A federal grand jury has rejected the Trump administration’s latest effort to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Virginia-based grand jury declined to bring charges on Thursday, dealing another blow to the administration’s push to pursue criminal cases against President Donald Trump’s political opponents.
It marks the second time in recent weeks that prosecutors have failed to advance the case, which centers on allegations that James falsified mortgage documents tied to a property in the Norfolk, Virginia, area.
The earlier indictment collapsed last month after U.S. District Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the charges against James, as well as a separate case against former FBI Director James Comey. The judge ruled that the lead prosecutor, who had been personally selected by Trump to bring both cases, was unlawfully appointed.
Despite the setback, the Justice Department could still attempt a third indictment.
James’ lead attorney, Abbe Lowell, said the grand jury’s decision should put an end to the matter. “The grand jury’s refusal to re-indict Attorney General James is a decisive rejection of a case that should never have existed in the first place,” Lowell said in a statement.
He added that the case was thrown out after Trump “illegally installed a U.S. attorney to file baseless charges that career prosecutors refused to bring,” warning that any further attempt to revive the case would amount to “a shocking assault on the rule of law and a devastating blow to the integrity of our justice system.”
