Things have continued spiralling for New York Attorney General Letitia James since her nemesis, President Donald Trump, was inaugurated. Not only has Attorney General Pam Bondi brought charges against her, but now scrutiny placed on her due to her prosecution of Trump has lead to her being caught in alleged mortgage fraud, which is headed to her prosecution.
As background, the criminal referral made news on the night of Tuesday, April 15, when Fox News Channel’s Laura Ingraham noted, “The Federal Housing Finance Agency has sent a criminal referral to the DOJ accusing James of mortgage fraud, and in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, Director Bill Pulte says James appears to have falsified records in order to meet certain lending requirements and receive favorable loan terms.”
In that segment, Ingraham was referencing a letter sent that day in which the FHFA’s Director Pulte called for Pam Bondi to bring charges against Letitia James over three mortgage fraud incidents, noting that she made false claims about a five-unit building she bought, a house in Virginia she bought, and claimed her father was her husband on a mortgage application.
Letitia James has responded as could be expected, both trying to dodge questions about the seemingly quite obvious fraud she allegedly committed, and by issuing a fiery statement from her office in which she had a temper tantrum about facing scrutiny and claimed she did nothing wrong.
In the fiery statement, Letitia James first claimed she is fighting tirelessly for New Yorkers, saying that in her role as NY AG, she is, absurdly, “focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this Administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution.”
Continuing, the ridiculous state AG claimed that she is fighting “bullies” in the Trump Administration with her prosecution of him and that it is only bullying that means she is being targeted for mortgage fraud prosecution, sayin,g “She will not be intimidated by bullies — no matter who they are.”
In the letter exposing AG James, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte said that NY AG James was jeopardizing the soundness of the FHFA, writing, “Pursuant to my authority as Director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency (“U.S.Federal Housing” or “FHFA”), I am referring the matter below. As regulator of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, we take very seriously allegations of mortgage fraud or other criminal activity. Such misconduct jeopardizes the safety and soundness of FHFA’s regulated entities and the security and stability of the U.S. mortgage market.”
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Continuing, Pulte said that what James has done justifies throwing the book at her, saying, “In the course of exercising U.S. Federal Housing’s authorities under the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992, U.S. Federal Housing has identified matters that are appropriate for referral to the U.S. Department of Justice for consideration of criminal prosecution.”
Giving a few examples of her allegedly illegal behavior, Pulte said, “Based on media reports, Ms. Letitia James has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms. This has potentially included 1) falsifying residence status for a Norfolk, Virginia-based home in order to secure a lower mortgage rate and 2) misrepresenting property descriptions to meet stringent requirements for government backed loans and government assistance.”
Watch Ingraham expose and explain AG James’ new woes here:
Featured image credit: By Thomas Good – Thomas Good / Next Left Notes, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5246174