Barbara McQuade, Columnist

Convicting Letitia James Will Be an Uphill Battle

October 10, 2025 at 4:13 PM UTC

Barbara McQuade is a professor at the University of Michigan Law school, a former US attorney and author of the forthcoming book, "The Fix: Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government."

Justice may still prevail over retribution.
Photographer: John Paraskevas/Newsday RM/Getty Images

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The Letitia James indictment for mortgage fraud contains numerous irregularities, but the New York attorney general’s best hope for prevailing against the charges may be the prosecution’s inability to prove its case.

On Thursday, Lindsey Halligan, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, obtained an indictment charging James with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. The indictment came less than a week after Halligan filed charges against former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing an investigation. Both Comey and James have maintained their innocence, claiming the charges are baseless and politically motivated.