"He would have authorized a wide-ranging investigation of anything fishy about her conduct or her associations, kept his distance from it, and encouraged the development of an airtight case by credible prosecutors. And indeed, as recently as August, the Trump Justice Department seemed to be working on allegations of civil rights violations by James in her aggressive pursuit of Republicans and conservatives, including Trump himself."
"On September 20, he published a Truth Social post telling Attorney General Pam Bondi to get a move on in indicting his political enemies, including James (along with James Comey and Adam Schiff). That same day, Trump dumped his nominee for U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, where the relevant cases arose, apparently for refusing to instantly indict James."
"Career federal prosecutors in Virginia found little evidence to indicate Ms. James knowingly misled banks or was dishonest in her loan paperwork, according to people familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity. [James attorney Abbe] Lowell said Thursday evening that he was "deeply concerned that this case is driven by President Trump's desire for revenge." That's certainly the impression Trump has worked hard to create."
Donald Trump publicly pressured Justice Department officials to indict political opponents, explicitly urging action against New York Attorney General Letitia James. He removed a U.S. attorney nominee in the Eastern District of Virginia and installed a replacement who quickly sought an indictment. The resulting case rests on mortgage-fraud allegations promoted by Trump’s Housing Finance director, Bill Pulte, rather than the findings of career federal prosecutors. Federal prosecutors reportedly found little evidence that James knowingly misled banks or falsified loan paperwork. James’s attorney expressed concern the prosecution is driven by political revenge rather than robust evidence.
Read at Intelligencer
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