A federal grand jury has declined to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, marking the Department of Justice’s second failed attempt to pursue criminal charges against the prominent Democratic official.
The legal battle follows a mortgage fraud case previously dismissed by U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, who ruled in November that the federal prosecutor who secured the indictment, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed.
The dismissal cleared the way for the DOJ’s attempt to revive the case, which the grand jury rejected on Thursday, December 4, 2025.
James, who has been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, called the efforts “baseless” and decried them as part of the “unchecked weaponisation of our justice system to stop” political opponents. Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, described the grand jury’s decision as “a decisive rejection of a case that should never have existed” and warned that any further attempts would strike at the rule of law and the integrity of the justice system.
The legal dispute has roots in a civil fraud case brought by James’s office against Trump and his family business. In 2024, a judge ordered Trump to pay $450 million for fraudulently inflating his net worth to mislead lenders. While a New York appeals court later struck down the penalty, it upheld the finding that Trump was liable for fraud.
Trump has repeatedly labeled both the civil and criminal actions as part of a political “witch-hunt,” which has included four since-dropped federal cases following his first term.
James is one of several high-profile Trump critics recently targeted with federal criminal charges. Former FBI Director James Comey’s case, also tied to Halligan, was dismissed in November, while former National Security Adviser John Bolton faces charges over alleged mishandling of classified information.
Despite the grand jury’s decision, Reuters reported that federal prosecutors may still seek a new indictment against James, citing unnamed sources.
The ongoing legal confrontations highlight the tense intersection of politics and the justice system, and the scrutiny faced by elected officials who challenge powerful figures.
