Scott Gurvey's Public Offerings

He’s in the groove. Donald Trump finally has his production line going and he’s serving up indictments like he’s working the griddle at the local fast-food joint.

On October 9, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. The charges relate to allegations involving a mortgage loan. James is the second name on Trump’s revenge list. The same judicial district run by the same US Attorney indicted former FBI director James Comey last week. Just like the Comey case, the James indictment came over opposition from career prosecutors.

Those prosecutors believed they did not have enough evidence to indict James after a five-month investigation that featured interviews with dozens of witnesses. More specifically, after investigating for five months and interviewing fifteen witnesses, investigators were unable to find straightforward evidence that James knowingly falsified records to obtain better loan terms.

This refusal to prosecute had significant consequences. U.S. Attorney Erik Siebert resigned his position after being notified of the president’s intention to fire him, following Trump officials’ pressure to bring charges against James despite investigators failing to find clear evidence she committed a crime.

The evidence that prosecutors found actually appeared to undercut the fraud allegations. Documents collected in the case showed James repeatedly stating the opposite of what she was accused of claiming, In one email to a mortgage broker, James wrote that “this property WILL NOT be my primary residence,” and on other forms asking whether the home would be her primary residence, James checked off “NO”.

After Siebert’s departure, a new U.S. Attorney, Lindsey Halligan, one of Trump’s personal lawyers, was appointed to the post and ultimately brought the indictment. Halligan also indicted Comey.

James brought a civil case against Trump, his company and family members in 2022 that led to a $464 million civil penalty. That figure was tossed out by an appeals court in August, but a lower court finding that Trump was liable for business fraud was upheld.

Attorney General Pam Bondi and other senior Justice Department officials were reportedly caught off guard by the indictment, learning about it only after Halligan had presented the case to the grand jury.

One former senior DOJ official said it would be extraordinary for leadership at the department to not be informed of a pending indictment of a major political figure like James, which would more typically be led by the department’s Public Integrity Section. Staff in that office has been eliminated to just two officials down from roughly 30 since Trump’s inauguration, according to sources.

Like the Comey indictment, Halligan is the only one to sign the James indictment. No assistant US attorney would put their name on it. It also contains typos and factual errors, including specifying James’ address as “Brooklyn, New Jersey.” These mistakes are not considered fatal. But the evidence that this indictment was a direct result of an order issued by Donald Trump could well lead to a dismissal of the charges. Remember Trump’s posted instructions to Bondi:

Abbe Lowell, attorney for James stated they are “deeply concerned that this case is driven by President Trump’s desire for revenge”. This concern stems from James’ previous prosecution of Trump in New York, making the timing and circumstances appear politically motivated to critics.

Despite her being initially caught off guard by Halligan’s presentment, Bondi posted on ‘X’ following James’ indictment, “One tier of justice for all Americans.”

In Trump’s world that means, “If you go after me, I’ll go after you.”

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