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Letitia James reaps what she sows after leveling ‘laughable’ case at Trump: expert
The Trump administration’s criminal referral targeting New York Attorney General Letitia James for reported mortgage fraud likely never would have unfolded if not for the Democrat’s years of targeting the president in court, a New York City real estate attorney and expert told Fox News Digital.
«To be perfectly frank, this is a retaliatory case brought by the president for what the attorney general did to him over the last several years,» New York City attorney Pierre Debbas, partner and founding member of real estate law firm Romer Debbas, told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview Thursday morning. «Both cases, quite honestly, are very weak cases.
«The attorney general’s case that was brought against Donald Trump was honestly a pure manipulation of the legal system, and it was laughable,» he continued, referring to the civil fraud case she brought against Trump. «Something that’s never taken place in the history of New York that was isolated at one particular person for a politically driven purpose.
«Now, on the flip side, this serves the same purpose, right? This is the president’s way of seeking retaliation against the attorney general for something that, in reality, is, while it’s considered mortgage fraud, it’s not criminal,» he continued. «And it’s not something that would have been brought upon had the attorney general not pursued a similar case with low merit against the president a few years back.»
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REFERS NY AG LETITIA JAMES FOR POSSIBLE PROSECUTION OVER ALLEGATIONS OF MORTGAGE FRAUD
New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference Sept. 21, 2022, in New York. (Brittainy Newman, File/The Associated Press )
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), an independent federal agency that oversees Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank System, sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice Monday arguing the attorney general appeared to have falsified mortgage records to obtain more favorable loans.
At the heart of the case is a Norfolk, Virginia, home James purchased in 2023, which she identified on mortgage documents and a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac form as a property that would serve as her primary residence, according to the FHFA letter dated Monday. James is legally required to live in New York as a statewide elected official in the Empire State, the letter adds.
Identifying a home as a primary residence versus a secondary home or vacation home comes with financial incentives, Debbas explained, because banks will offer lower interest rates to primary residences, with homeowners less likely to default on such loans compared to a second home.
«As a real estate attorney, we represent every major lending institution in the country,» he said. «And a common underwriting requirement for banks is to solidify what the use of the property is going to be, meaning, is it a primary residence, second home or investment property.
«And the reason banks do that is that clearly there’s a higher rate of default when it comes to investment properties and second homes as opposed to primary residences.»
The Trump administration’s criminal referral targeting New York Attorney General Letitia James for reported mortgage fraud likely never would have unfolded if not for the Democrat’s years of targeting the president in court, a New York City real estate attorney and expert told Fox News Digital. (Seth Wenig, Pool/The Associated Press)
«The reason being is people, you know, don’t want to leave their homes,» he said. «Now, a second home investment property, you may be a little more inclined to throw the keys to the bank.»
COURT NAMES NEW JUDGE IN TRUMP CIVIL FRAUD CASE BEFORE REASSIGNING PREVIOUS JUDGE HOURS LATER
The bank then requires the borrower to sign an affidavit confirming that the home being acquired will be used as a primary residence, he explained.
«Now, if that is not the intent or that is in fact inaccurate, and you sign that agreement, you are in fact committing mortgage fraud,» he said. «And the bank relies on that agreement in giving you the loan. Now, would they have given you a loan if it were a second home? Potentially, but the difference is the interest rate would be significantly higher.»
The bank’s recourse when discovering such mortgage fraud related to misidentifying a property as a primary residence to obtain more favorable loan terms is «simply to call the loan,» he said.
State Attorney General Letitia James is a longtime political foe of President Donald Trump who campaigned for the attorney general job in 2018 by vowing to aggressively pursue legal charges against Trump if elected. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
«They would call the loan, force you to pay it off by a certain date,» he said. «If you’re unable to sell the property or take other liquidity that you have to pay off the loan, they have the right to pursue a foreclosure action. They’d be legally granted this right. It would be very difficult to contest under those circumstances because, technically speaking, this is a default and this is fraud.»
The New York City real estate attorney added that this type of fraud is common.
LONGTIME TRUMP FOE LETITIA JAMES REVIEWING POSSIBLE INSIDER TRADING OVER PRESIDENT’S TARIFF PAUSE
«What extent is it fraud? To be quite honest with you, this is a very common thing that does take place in the real estate market,» he said. «I’m not saying it’s right. I’m not saying Letitia James … the full extent of the law shouldn’t be applied to her. But it is something that takes place. Because if the loan is current, the bank hasn’t really suffered any detriment, but it’s still mortgage fraud. So that doesn’t take away the fraud component to this.»
Debbas argued this type of fraud does not rise to the level of criminal activity because the bank can call the loan, take back the property or force it to be liquidated.
«The attorney general’s case that was brought against Donald Trump was honestly a pure manipulation of the legal system, and it was laughable,» New York City attorney Pierre Debbas said, referring to the civil fraud case she brought against Trump. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
James’ office told The New York Times that a separate loan application for the 2023 Norfolk, Virginia, home purchase reportedly indicated she would not live at the property full time, and that her mortgage agreement did not require her to occupy the property as her primary residence.
James is a longtime political foe of Trump’s who campaigned for the attorney general job in 2018 by vowing to aggressively pursue legal charges against Trump if elected, adding she’d expose the «con man» after her win that year.
Her office leveled nearly 100 legal challenges against the first Trump administration and added after his second presidential win in 2024 that she would continue challenging him in the courts to «defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law.»
NY AG LETITIA JAMES SKEWERED FOR ‘DISTASTEFUL’ REMARKS AFTER TRUMP VICTORY: ‘UTTER ARROGANCE’
Most notably, James pursued a civil fraud case against Trump and the Trump Organization for inflating the values of properties to obtain more favorable loans, insurance coverage and tax deductions, which resulted in a $454 million judgment in 2024.
A spokesperson for James’ office told Fox Digital Thursday that «multiple times during the attorney general’s trial against President Trump and the Trump Organization for years of financial fraud, President Trump’s attorneys repeatedly made the argument that the attorney general’s lawsuit was politically motivated.
«Every single time, the judge rejected that argument and even sanctioned the attorneys for making it,» the spokesperson added. «Attorney General James won her lawsuit, and the judgment against President Trump now exceeds half a billion dollars.»
Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley noted the irony of Trump’s criminal referral over allegations of James fudging numbers to obtain more favorable loans after pursing Trump for something similar.
«This is a person who prosecuted Trump for everything short of ripping a label off a mattress, and among the charges that were brought in New York, in not just the civil but the criminal case, was making false or misleading statements to financial institutions,» the legal scholar said on Fox News’ «The Ingraham Angle» Tuesday. «As for James, if we apply the Letitia James standard that she created, there’d be little question here. This seems pretty straightforward.»
The administration is looking into the allegations put forth by the FHFA while underscoring that «no one is above the law,» White House spokesman Harrison Fields said on Newsmax Wednesday.
«With the Democratic Party, they love to throw stones in glass homes when they realize that they’re committing the crimes that they’re actually trying to go against,» Fields said.
«So, this is now a criminal referral that the Department of Justice under Attorney General Pam Bondi will have to look at,» he added. «The allegations from the FHFA are very serious. We’re going to look at them, and no one is above the law. And Tish James, she’d like to say that about the president, but she should look in the mirror and realize that if you have skeletons in your closets about abusing the law and doing illegal things, maybe you shouldn’t be purveying around like some justice queen, because you’re not.»
NY AG LETITIA JAMES RESPONDS TO ALLEGATIONS OF MORTGAGE FRAUD
The criminal referral also cited past reported issues with James’ properties, including a 2001 purchase of a Brooklyn property. The certificate of occupancy lists the property as a five-unit residence, while James’ mortgages list the property as four units.
Debbas explained that five-unit properties are identified as commercial properties, which would require a commercial loan that has higher interest rates than a residential loan. However, the banks carry the burden of confirming whether a building is commercial or residential.
«If the borrower has the ability to tell the bank or convince the bank that it’s actually four units, it’s to their financial benefit,» he said. «Now, when you look at a certificate of occupancy, certificate of the occupancy is issued by the Department of Buildings, which tells you the legal use of the building.
Letitia James’ office leveled nearly 100 legal challenges against the first Trump administration and said after his second presidential win in 2024 she would continue challenging him in the courts to «defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law.» (Gary Hershorn/Getty Images)
«This is a five-family dwelling,» he said. «Now, this is unequivocally a commercial property. The burden was on the bank to confirm this, but if the borrower did, in fact, have concrete knowledge … an argument can be made that mortgage fraud did take place in the application of this law.»
James’ office told The New York Times a rider attached to the Brooklyn mortgage stated the building was four units, not five.
Debbas added that before the 2008 market crash, there was a lot of «shadiness» in the world of mortgages.
«As an elected official … there should be a heightened standard for honesty and obliging by your legal requirements not falsifying documents or committing fraud,» Debbas said.
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While reflecting specifically on the Virginia home alleged mortgage fraud, he added, «Now, how would this impact her seating as attorney general of the state of New York? At the end of the day, that’s going to be determined largely based on how many enemies she’s created. But from a purely mortgage standpoint, it is certainly mortgage fraud, but, in my opinion, it does not warrant any criminal activity.»
A spokesperson for James’ office said Wednesday morning she has been «focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution. She will not be intimidated by bullies — no matter who they are,» Fox Digital previously reported.
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Congressional Democrats are trying to get on the same page and display a unified front after threatening to derail the government funding process.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., met behind closed doors Tuesday night, along with the top Democrats in the House and Senate Appropriations Committees, to plot a course forward in the forthcoming government funding fight.
SENATE WEATHERS DEM OPPOSITION, ADVANCES FIRST GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., turns to an aide during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The meeting came after Democrats in the upper chamber overwhelmingly supported the first government funding bill to hit the Senate floor, one that would fund military construction and Veterans Affairs. Ahead of the vote, Senate Democrats had signaled they may vote against the bill and further obstruct the appropriations process because of highly partisan legislation rammed through the upper chamber by Senate Republicans.
«We all want to pursue a bipartisan, bicameral appropriations process,» Schumer said. «That’s how it’s always been done, successfully, and we believe that, however, the Republicans are making it extremely difficult to do that.»
The meeting just off the Senate floor was meant to get congressional Democrats on board with a messaging plan over the next weeks and months ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government.
CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS FACE BRUISING BATTLE TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is seen after the Senate luncheons in the U.S. Capitol on June 24, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
It was also likely designed to prevent a repeat of the Democratic debacle in March, when Schumer broke with Jeffries and threatened to shutter the government before ultimately caving and providing Republicans the votes necessary to advance yet another government funding extension, known as a continuing resolution.
Republicans are quick to point out that when Schumer led the upper chamber, none of the House GOP’s spending bills made it to the floor — in Congress, the spending process begins in the lower chamber.
Since taking over earlier this year, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has committed to returning to regular order, or passing each of the dozen spending bills to fund the government, and trying to get the appropriations process back to normal.
However, it’s a feat that hasn’t been successfully done in Washington since the late 1990s.
«Frankly, I think a lot of us around here think [this] is long overdue,» Thune said.
However, Democrats contend that their trust in Republicans is wearing thin after two major partisan bills, one being President Donald Trump’s «big, beautiful bill,» and the other the president’s $9 billion clawback package, were pushed through the chamber without any Democratic input.
‘BAIT AND SWITCH’: SCHUMER WARNS OF BITTER FUNDING FIGHT OVER GOP CUTS PLAN
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 6, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Thune argued that Senate Democrats were using the rescissions package to shut down the appropriations process and effectively shut down the government.
In the Senate, most bills that come to the floor require at least 60 votes to smash through the filibuster, meaning that most legislation requires bipartisan support to some extent.
Earlier this year, the House GOP produced a partisan government funding extension that was a tough pill for Senate Democrats to swallow, but they still ultimately opted to vote for it. This time around, they’re demanding more involvement in the process.
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Jeffries said that congressional Democrats would play ball if the process was «bipartisan and bicameral in nature» and put the onus of a partial government shutdown at the feet of congressional Republicans.
«House Republicans are, in fact, marching us toward a possible government shutdown that will hurt the American people,» he said.
However, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., threw the responsibility on Democrats over whether the government would shutter or stay open come the end of September.
«They’re gaming out how they can shut the government down,» Johnson told Bloomberg Government.
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Ucrania: el presidente Volodimir Zelenski enfrenta críticas y protestas por una nueva ley anticorrupción
Advertencia de funcionarios de la UE
El presidente ucraniano, Volodimir Zelenski, convocó a los jefes de todas las agencias de investigación y de lucha contra la corrupción del país. Foto EFENegociaciones en Estambul
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Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Israeli and Qatari officials in Rome on Thursday as the U.S. pushes for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Hamas and Israel are engaging in indirect negotiations to end the war that has raged on for nearly two years. However, Witkoff’s itinerary depends on the progress made in the talks. If the parties make enough progress in Rome, Witkoff will reportedly travel to Doha to finalize the deal, according to Axios.
The outlet also reported that sources indicated the meeting in Rome could suggest that a deal is near — possibly just days away.
Earlier this month, Israel agreed to a U.S.-backed, 60-day ceasefire proposal that would lead to the end of the war. This deal includes a phased release of hostages, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from parts of Gaza and talks on ending the conflict, according to Reuters.
Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to meet with Israeli and Qatari officials in Rome on Thursday to secure a deal to end the war in Gaza. (Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu/Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
ISRAEL, HAMAS TALKS DRAG AS AID GROUP CHAIR TELLS UN TO STOP ACTING LIKE THE ‘MAFIA’
«My representatives had a long and productive meeting with the Israelis today on Gaza. Israel has agreed to the necessary conditions to finalize the 60 Day CEASEFIRE, during which time we will work with all parties to end the war. The Qataris and Egyptians, who have worked very hard to help bring peace, will deliver this final proposal. I hope, for the good of the Middle East, that Hamas takes this deal because it will not get better — IT WILL ONLY GET WORSE,» President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 1.
President Donald Trump holds a bilateral dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in attendance, at the White House in Washington, D.C., July 7, 2025. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
ISRAEL ACCEPTS TRUMP-LED CEASEFIRE PLAN THAT COULD END GAZA WAR WITHIN 60 DAYS
Trump appeared optimistic about the possibility of Israel and Hamas reaching a deal to end the war. On July 16, while signing the HALT Fentanyl Act, Trump thanked Witkoff, praising him for doing «a fantastic job» and said that there was «some good news on Gaza,» though he did not elaborate.
From left to right, Foreign Affairs Minister of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, President Donald Trump and Foreign Affairs Minister of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 15, 2020, in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
TRUMP PRESSURES ISRAEL TO END GAZA CONFLICT AS HE EYES ABRAHAM ACCORDS EXPANSION
If Trump can secure an end to the war, it could mean an expansion of the Abraham Accords, one of the signature efforts of Trump’s first administration, which saw Israel sign normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. However, Trump has yet to detail which countries would be added.
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar said on June 30 that Israel was «serious» about seeking an end to the conflict. He added that Jerusalem has an interest in «countries, such as Syria and Lebanon, our neighbors, to the circle of peace and normalization.»
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Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
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