ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A federal grand jury right here refused to indict New York Legal professional Normal Letitia James on Thursday, one federal legislation enforcement supply and one other individual acquainted with the matter advised NBC Information.
This was the Justice Division’s third try to prosecute James following a monthslong strain marketing campaign from President Donald Trump.
A federal choose final month dismissed mortgage-related prices the Justice Division had introduced in opposition to James, in addition to separate, unrelated prices in opposition to former FBI Director James Comey, after ruling that the prosecutor in each instances was unlawfully appointed. The president named that prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, as interim U.S. legal professional for the District of Virginia.
The DOJ additionally tried and failed final week to safe a brand new indictment in opposition to James in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Justice Division didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
James’ lawyer, Abbe Lowell, stated in an announcement that, “For the second time in seven days, the Division of Justice has failed in its clear try to meet President Trump’s political vendetta in opposition to Legal professional Normal James. This unprecedented rejection makes even clearer that this case ought to by no means have seen the sunshine of day.”
He added, “This case already has been a stain on this Division’s popularity and raises troubling questions on its integrity. Any additional try to revive these discredited prices can be a mockery of our system of justice.”
Earlier than the primary case in opposition to her was dismissed, James pleaded not responsible to prices associated to a mortgage on a Norfolk house. By declaring the house her second residence, the Trump administration alleged, she saved roughly $50 a month on her mortgage fee.
James has been a political goal for Trump since she investigated the Trump Group for fraud, saying he and different leaders of the corporate “reaped tons of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in ill-gotten good points,” by routinely overvaluing properties and acquiring financial institution loans and insurance coverage insurance policies at decrease charges. Trump was discovered answerable for fraud within the civil swimsuit. A divided state appeals courtroom upheld the fraud submitting, however discovered the $464 million judgment was “extreme.”
It is uncommon for a federal grand jury to reject prices as a result of the method is stacked within the authorities’s favor. On the grand jury stage, prosecutors want solely to persuade 12 of no less than 16 grand jurors that they met the possible trigger threshold, a a lot decrease customary than the unanimous “past an affordable doubt” requirement for securing a conviction earlier than a jury throughout a trial.
Underneath longstanding Justice Division practices, federal prosecutors are supposed to maneuver ahead with a case provided that its seen as more likely to safe a conviction at trial.
The Justice Division introduced in out-of-state federal prosecutors to attempt to carry a case in opposition to James. Profession prosecutors within the Jap District of Virginia had concluded that the case in opposition to James was too weak to maneuver ahead, and Trump’s personal nominee to guide the workplace, Erik Siebert, resigned amid strain from the president to carry a case in opposition to James.
Chloe Atkins contributed.
