The more I dig into this story, the more astounded I am: Letitia James can’t really be this stupid, can she?
We’re talking about Letitia “No one is above the law” James, a poster child for the weaponized justice system that tried to sandbag and impoverish Donald Trump and put him away for the rest of his life. As they say, if you’re going to take a shot at the king, you better not miss. Or, in this case, you better not have an apparent pattern of fraudulent real estate transactions.
Let’s begin.
First, let me state that all of these allegations are just that: allegations. They do appear to be backed up by documents and other statements, but they are by no means proven facts. (I don’t live in NYC, but I am not far enough away, and I don’t want Big Tish coming after me!) All I’m saying is, there’s an awful lot of smoke here.
Exhibit A: Letitia James (allegedly) claimed her father as her spouse on a mortgage application.
First of all, ew.
In 1983, when budding real estate mogul Letitia James set out to buy her first property, she obtained a mortgage in partnership with her father, Robert James. There's nothing weird about that — plenty of parents help their kids buy a property by cosigning the note — but they don't feel the need to represent themselves as husband and wife. Yet that is what Letitia and Robert did on their mortgage. (Letitia's mother — Robert's wife — is named Nellie.)
Ordinarily, when there is an error on a document one is about to sign, one at least makes a handwritten correction and initials it, or one refuses to sign until a correct document is prepared. Hat tip to journalist Joel Gilbert for digging up this document and more on Letitia James.
Exhibit B: Letitia James (allegedly) repeatedly misfiled and/or failed to disclose her real estate holdings and loans.
Investigator Sam Antar has been digging into James's accountability over on his website, White Collar Fraud. In March, he posted an article detailing her possibly criminal failures — dating as far back as 2007, when James was an elected member of the New York City Council — to accurately and completely disclose financial information about herself. Antar notes:
Under Section 73-a of the New York Public Officers Law, elected officials like James are required to file sworn annual statements with the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government disclosing all real estate holdings (except personal residences that don’t generate income), all sources of income exceeding $1,000, and all debts exceeding $10,000. These aren’t optional formalities but legal statements signed under penalty of perjury.
However, an important distinction exists for mortgages and HELOCs on rental properties: unlike general debts, which are only required to be reported if they exceed $10,000, all mortgages and HELOCs secured by rental properties must be disclosed, regardless of the amount owed or drawn.
[…]
False statements can constitute a Class A misdemeanor under New York law, punishable by up to a year in jail. The law states: “A reporting individual who knowingly and willfully fails to file an annual statement of financial disclosure or who knowingly and willfully with intent to deceive makes a false statement or gives information which such individual knows to be false on such statement of financial disclosure… shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.”
Antar then goes on to list numerous examples of missing or mysteriously changing or disappearing loans and financial finagling related to James's two known investment properties, one in Brooklyn, N.Y., and one in Norfolk, Va. It is, of course, possible to be sloppy or even mistaken when filing complex paperwork, but someone in James's position cannot succumb to such failings and then go on to prosecute a then-former president for his own alleged improper filings.
James's "disclosure history shows a pattern of delayed reporting, unexplained changes, and missing information spanning more than a decade. These aren’t minor oversights, but substantial, recurring issues involving properties worth millions and mortgages totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars," concludes Antar.
Exhibit C: Letitia James may have lied about an apartment building she owns to secure favorable loan rates.
When it comes to multi-family dwellings, the difference between four units and five is the difference between a residential and a commercial mortgage — and potentially thousands of dollars in interest on loan payments.
In 2001, James purchased an apartment building in Brooklyn, N.Y. The building's 2001 Certificate of Occupancy (CO) certified it as a five-unit dwelling. In 2005, James refinanced the building, listing it as a four-unit dwelling on the mortgage. She did this on subsequent refinance paperwork, too — including a 2011 loan from a federal program designed to provide relief to stressed property owners. To qualify for this program — the Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP — the mortgage needed to be "secured by a one- to four-unit property, one unit of which is the borrower’s principal residence." Antar has a deeper dive into this fishy situation over on his website.
If the building is indeed a five-unit dwelling, James has committed fraud every time she financed or refinanced it. The less-fraught explanation is that she (or a previous owner) converted two units into a single one, but there does not seem to be any permit on record for this work. This would put James in violation with the NYC Dept. of Buildings and subject to legal ramifications. So which is it?
Exhibit D: Letitia James may have fraudulently applied for a mortgage to get a favorable interest rate.
I covered this story yesterday, but the gist is that James purchased a home in Norfolk, Va., in 2023 jointly with a female relative. On a Specific Power of Attorney related to the sale that James signed, she claimed the home would be her primary residence. But as she went on to prosecute Donald Trump in her role as New York attorney general two months later, she could not have resided in the Virginia home after all. So it looks as though she either committed fraud or she abandoned the role of New York attorney general by moving out of state.
Read the full story here: If This Is What It Looks Like, NY AG Letitia James Is In a World of Trouble
These are just the things that have bubbled to the surface in the past few weeks, as citizen sleuths comb through publicly available records and compare them to statute and law. If this is just the stuff James leaves lying around in public, who knows what kind of self-dealing, corrupt behavior she may engage in on the down low? There is certainly enough in the above examples to justify an investigation into the woman's dealings.
At any rate, it is baffling that someone who took on such a high-profile case — attacking a former and future president by going through his business affairs with a fine-toothed comb and teasing out a narrative of fraudulent real estate financing — would have done so when her own house was in such disorder. Her arrogance was breathtaking in its foolishness.
The lawfare campaign against President Trump that kicked off during his first campaign, went into high gear after the 2020 election, and culminated in dual assassination attempts in 2024, is a shameful low point in American history. A little over a year ago, it gave me profound satisfaction as a journalist to report that Fani Willis's trumped-up Georgia RICO case against Trump was about to implode. I get the same sense of significance from this developing story about Tish James's potentially criminal behavior — some of which may run afoul of federal law. Since the DOJ is now part of the Trump administration, this woman has no reason to expect the sort of consideration she has apparently enjoyed from New York City and State authorities.
I imagine that at this moment, the pucker factor must be spiking for Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, among others. I sure hope for their sake that everyone involved in the banana-republic lawfare attacks on Donald Trump is as pure as the wind-driven snow.
No, I am not advocating for politicized prosecution; I am advocating for equal application of the law. What goes around comes around, eh?
We writers at PJ Media are serious about reporting game-changing news that you will never hear about from the lamestream media. Help us get these important stories into the light of day — join the crew at a PJ Media VIP! Access our exclusive reports, analysis, podcasts, liveblogs, and — my favorite — our interactive comments sections. And best of all, no ads! Right now, you can use the promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your annual membership — that's a full year of PJ Media VIP for under $20! Please support PJ Media today!
With sincere thanks, Athena
Join the conversation as a VIP Member