Grand jury declines to indict Letitia James for second time in a week

December 11, 2025

A Virginia federal grand jury has refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on mortgage fraud allegations for the second time within a week, dealing another setback to President Trump's campaign against political opponents. The federal case, which accused James of misrepresenting her use of a Virginia property to obtain favorable mortgage terms, was previously dismissed by a judge who ruled the Trump-appointed prosecutor held the position illegally. James, who successfully pursued a civil fraud case against Trump and his organization that resulted in fraud liability findings, has characterized the federal prosecution as political retaliation.

Who is affected

Letitia James, New York Attorney General
President Donald Trump
James Comey, former FBI Director (also had charges dismissed)
John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser (currently facing charges)
The Trump Organization
The U.S. Department of Justice

What action is being taken

John Bolton is currently charged with sending and willfully retaining national defense information
The Department of Justice has not commented on the grand jury decisions

Why it matters

This matters because it represents a significant judicial rebuke to President Trump's efforts to prosecute political adversaries. The extreme rarity of grand juries declining to indict—only six times out of 150,000 federal investigations in 2016—underscores the weakness of the case against James. The dismissal also raises questions about the politicization of federal prosecutions and the credibility of the Justice Department when cases appear motivated by personal or political vendettas rather than legitimate legal concerns.

What's next

No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: BBC