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New York Attorney General Letitia James enters plea in federal mortgage fraud case
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New York Attorney General Letitia James was arraigned at a federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, Friday, where she pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
The charges against James stem from her 2020 purchase of a home in Norfolk, Virginia. Prosecutors allege that James misled a bank about the nature of the residence in order to obtain more favorable loan conditions.
The indictment states that James misrepresented the financial institution in claiming it would be her secondary residence, and instead rented it out to a family.
According to the indictment, the lower interest rate would allow James to save nearly $19,000 over the course of the 30-year loan.
LETITIA JAMES TO BE ARRAIGNED IN VIRGINIA ON FEDERAL BANK FRAUD CHARGES TIED TO 2020 HOME PURCHASE
NY AG Letitia James and President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
James entered the not guilty plea herself to U.S. District Judge Jamar K. Walker.
She is being represented in the case by defense attorney Abbe Lowell, and by Andrew Bosse, a former assistant U.S. attorney based in Norfolk who formerly headed up the office’s criminal division.
James’ arraignment is the latest in a string of prosecutions brought against the president’s perceived political foes, despite objections from career prosecutors — some of whom have since been fired or resigned.
James, a Democrat, has long-drawn Trump’s ire after she campaigned for attorney general in 2016 largely on vows to investigate Trump’s actions and businesses.
She also successfully secured a $450 million civil fraud case against him last year, though an appeals court later tossed the financial penalty portion of the case.
«This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,» James said in a statement after she was indicted.
DOJ SEEKS REMOVAL OF COMEY’S DEFENSE LAWYER, CITING CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Trump denies B1 bombers flew toward Venezuela amid cartel threats. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
«These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,» she added.
Her indictment, like the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, was presented to a grand jury by former White House aide Lindsey Halligan, whom President Donald Trump installed as the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last month.
Trump, in September, said he would install Halligan as the top prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, replacing interim attorney Erik Siebert, who resigned under pressure to indict both Comey and James.
«No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,» Halligan said in a statement. «The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.»
After the arraignment, it is likely that she will file a motion to dismiss her case for vindictive and selective prosecution, following similar steps taken by Comey’s legal team in Alexandria earlier this week.
She will also file a motion to dismiss her case based on what her lawyers will argue was the unlawful appointment of Halligan in securing her indictment.
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Lowell, her attorney, has described the case against her as «improper political retribution,» and vowed they would «fight these charges in every process allowed in the law.»
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment on the case, or whether Halligan or Keller would be joined by any other federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia.
Speaking to reporters outside the court on Friday, James said the Justice Department is being used as a tool of «revenge,» and a «vehicle of retribution.»
«But my faith is strong,» she told the group that had massed outside the courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia, hours earlier. «I have a belief in the justice system.»
«Never cow down or break or bend. So there is no fear today,» she said. «I will not be deterred.»
Judge Walker set a trial date for Jan. 26, 2026, and ordered parties to appear back in court for motions hearings in early December.
politics,new york,federal courts,donald trump,crime world,virginia
INTERNACIONAL
Rubio slams UNRWA as a ‘subsidiary of Hamas,’ vows it will not ‘play any role’ in delivering aid to Gaza
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who arrived in Israel shortly after Vice President JD Vance left for Washington, railed against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) amid the U.S.-brokered ceasefire.
«UNRWA’s not going to play any role in it,» Rubio said when asked about whether the controversial agency would assist in delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza. «The United Nations is here. They’re on the ground. We’re willing to work with them if they can make it work, but not UNRWA. UNRWA became a subsidiary of Hamas.»
UNRWA demanded in a post on X that it be allowed to do work in Gaza.
«As the largest U.N. agency operating in the Gaza Strip, by far, UNRWA has an unparalleled logistical network, longstanding trust from the community, managing the distribution of supplies based on vulnerability and clear criteria. Our teams are ready, inside and outside Gaza. Let us work,» the agency wrote.
EXPERTS URGE TRUMP TO BAN TERROR-LINKED UN AGENCY FROM HIS GAZA PEACE PLAN
Secretary of State Marco Rubio listens to a question as he speaks to the media after visiting the Civil-Military Coordination Center in southern Israel on Oct. 24, 2025. (Fadel Senna/Pool via Reuters)
On Oct. 17, days after world leaders backed a U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) opened a Civil-Military Coordination Center (CMCC), which is where Rubio spoke on Friday.
The CMCC is located in southern Israel and will serve as the main hub for Gaza stabilization efforts. It will also oversee implementation of the ceasefire agreement and has an operations floor designed to track real-time developments in Gaza.
During the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) last month, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres spoke at a meeting in support of UNRWA, saying that the agency has «made invaluable contributions to development, human rights, humanitarian action, and peace and security, including for Israel.»
«UNRWA is vital to any prospects for peace and stability in the region,» Guterres added.
UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City, Gaza, on Feb. 21, 2024. (Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images)
US MILITARY TO OVERSEE NEXT PHASE OF PEACE DEAL FROM COORDINATION BASE IN ISRAEL
However, the U.S. and Israel have taken hard stances against the agency, particularly in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
President Donald Trump in February reaffirmed the U.S.’s commitment to not fund UNRWA.
In the executive order, Trump said that «UNRWA has reportedly been infiltrated by members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State as foreign terrorist organizations, and UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel.»
A Palestinian boy walks near an UNRWA school sheltering displaced people that was hit in an overnight Israeli strike in Gaza City on July 5, 2025. (Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters)
UNRWA SCHOOLS ‘HIJACKED BY HAMAS,’ WATCHDOG REPORT WARNS
In April 2025, when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) demanded Israel work with UNRWA, Washington backed Jerusalem, saying it was under no obligation to work with the agency and had «ample grounds to question UNRWA’s impartiality.»
UNRWA announced in August 2024 the end of an investigation by the Office of Internal Oversight Services into whether its staff participated in the attacks, as Israel claimed. Following the probe, which looked into 19 UNRWA staff members, nine staff members were fired over evidence that «could indicate» they were involved in the attacks.
The investigation found one case in which there was no evidence to confirm the staffer’s involvement and nine other cases in which «the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient» to prove their participation, according to UNRWA.
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Fox News Digital reached out to UNRWA and Israel’s mission to the U.N. for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report.
israel,secretary of state,marco rubio,united nations
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En una importante muestra de apoyo, Carlos III recibe a Zelenski con honores de Estado en Windsor
Honores militares
El Mayor Ben Tracey, capitán de la Guardia de Honor, junto al rey y el presidente ucraniano. Foto: Reuters
El Rey apoya abiertamente a Ucrania frente a la invasión rusa. Foto: APUn defensor de Ucrania
Después de la humillación de Trump
Toda la familia real involucrada
La Cumbre de Buena Voluntad
Starmer recibe a Zelenski en Londres. Foto: AP
Sen. Lankford proposes bill to avoid government shutdowns
Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., join ‘The Faulkner Focus’ to discuss the failed vote to pay federal workers amid the government shutdown as they enter their first week without pay.
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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has canceled votes in the House of Representatives for a fourth straight week as the government shutdown shows no signs of ending.
Johnson’s move is a part of his continued pressure strategy on Senate Democrats and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who have sunk the GOP’s federal funding plan 12 times since Sept. 19, when the House passed the measure.
Sept. 19 was also the last day the House was in session, meaning lawmakers have been largely in their home districts for over a month.
Republicans are pushing a short-term extension of fiscal year (FY) 2025 spending levels through Nov. 21 — called a continuing resolution (CR) — aimed at giving congressional negotiators time to strike a longer-term deal for FY2026.
SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES
House Speaker Mike Johnson, right, is canceling House votes to pressure Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, left, for refusing to agree to a GOP-led plan to avert a government shutdown. (Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
Democrats, furious at being sidelined in federal funding discussions, have been withholding their support for any spending bill that does not also extend COVID-19 pandemic-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are due to expire at the end of this year.
Johnson’s decision was made public on Friday afternoon during a brief pro forma session in the House. Under rules dictated by the Constitution, the chamber must meet for brief periods every few days called «pro forma» sessions to ensure continuity, even if there are no formal legislative matters at hand.
Pro forma sessions can also be opportunities for lawmakers to give brief speeches or introduce legislation that they otherwise would not have.
Democrats have criticized Johnson’s decision, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., telling reporters that House Republicans have been «on vacation for the last four weeks.»
The government is in a shutdown after Congress failed to reach an agreement on federal funding. (Getty Images)
Republicans, however, have largely stayed united behind Johnson as the shutdown continues.
«I mean, if all of a sudden the Senate wants to pass a clean CR, I would imagine there are some options on the table that we can pursue to get things back on track,» said Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., who presided over the House chamber on Friday.
«I would defer, ultimately, to [leadership’s] decisions for the schedule. But right now, I don’t see any sign that we need to change what has been on the counter.»
But there have been several notable defections. Both Reps. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., have made their criticism of Johnson’s strategy known publicly for weeks.
«I believe very strongly that it’s the wrong decision,» Kiley told MSNBC earlier this week, adding House lawmakers were not «doing all the things we’re supposed to be doing» aside from figuring out how to end the shutdown.
BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSURES DEMS ON SHUTDOWN
Rep. Kevin Kiley, seen in August 2023, has been critical of Johnson’s shutdown strategy. (Scott Strazzante-Pool/Getty Images)
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Multiple House lawmakers have also raised concerns about being out of session on private weekly calls that Johnson holds with members of the GOP conference.
Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, was the most recent House Republican to suggest the GOP could be in a stronger position if they were back in Washington, Fox News Digital was told.
«I think the longer that we are out, the messaging is starting to get old,» Van Duyne told fellow House Republicans on their Tuesday call.
house of representatives politics,mike johnson,politics,chuck schumer
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