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New York Attorney General Letitia James' lawyers accused the Trump medication of "outrageous authorities conduct" connected Monday, arguing the fraud charges against her were "patently unconstitutional" and intended to punish James for her absorption to President Trump.
James is asking a justice to flip retired her indictment with prejudice, meaning it could not beryllium reintroduced. She was charged successful October with slope fraud, with prosecutors accusing James — a longtime foe of Mr. Trump who sued him successful civilian tribunal for fraud, which helium has denied — of buying a location successful Virginia and falsely calling it a 2nd location alternatively of a rental spot successful bid to get a little involvement rate.
In a 22-page filing Monday, James alleged the charges were the merchandise of "months of amerciable and unethical behavior" by Fair Housing Finance Authority (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte, apical Justice Department authoritative Ed Martin and interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan.
"If this brazen, continuous disregard for the instrumentality and the Constitution is not outrageous authorities conduct, thing is," James' lawyers wrote. They called her indictment a usurpation of the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees a close to owed process.
CBS News has reached retired to FHFA and the Justice Department for comment.
Bill Pulte
The owe fraud probe into James began aft Pulte, whose bureau oversees the government-sponsored owe giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, referred her for prosecution earlier this year, citing respective instances of alleged owe fraud.
James' lawyers alleged Monday that Pulte "transformed the little-known bureau into a limb to beryllium brandished against President Trump's governmental enemies."
They pointed to messages betwixt 2 Fannie Mae officials, including the manager of owe fraud and the vice president of fiscal crimes, successful which 1 says "the [James] lawsuit is surely not wide and convincing evidence" of owe fraud.
Her ineligible squad besides called the origins of the James probe "suspect," claiming Pulte whitethorn person relied connected either a "fringe blogger," records successful region databases that helium bought oregon Fannie Mae indebtedness files that were "unlawfully accessed."
According to James' ineligible team, Pulte sent a backstage missive to Halligan, a erstwhile White House adjutant who is starring the prosecutions of James and former FBI Director James Comey, summarizing accusation connected James' properties. That information, they say, was past utilized successful portion successful James' expansive assemblage proceedings.
Pulte, a vocal Trump ally, has besides referred Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, Federal Reserve Board Member Lisa Cook and Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff to the Justice Department for transgression prosecution for allegedly committing owe fraud.
James' ineligible squad claims Pulte is operating successful his relation illegally due to the fact that helium appointed himself president of some Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac aft removing their committee members, and is simultaneously successful complaint of the enactment that oversees them, the FHFA. The agency's regulations necessitate Fannie and Freddie to person autarkic chairs, the filing says.
"As FHFA Director, Pulte is the furthest happening from independent," James' lawyers said.
Ed Martin
In its filing Monday, James' ineligible squad questioned the relation of Martin, who is the U.S. Pardon Attorney and peculiar lawyer for owe fraud astatine the Justice Department. They said Martin "has engaged successful a well-documented bid of actions that cannot beryllium described arsenic thing but outrageous."
In August, Martin sent a missive to James' bureau successful New York that insisted she "resign from office," James' attorneys allege, to "give the radical of New York and America much bid than proceeding."
"The missive was not an effort to analyse the facts, nor did it fell his plain volition to unit the sitting Attorney General of New York to resign from bureau oregon look transgression prosecution," James' lawyers wrote, adding that "the letter, by itself, violated Justice Department rules, the Principles of Federal Prosecution, and assorted codes of nonrecreational work and ethics."
Days later, Martin was photographed successful beforehand of James' Brooklyn location "adorned successful an Inspector Gadget-inspired beige trenchcoat," which James' lawyers accidental was intended to "intimidate" the New York lawyer general.
Lindsey Halligan
The filing Monday besides takes purpose astatine Halligan, who was appointed to pb the Justice Department's outpost successful the Eastern District of Virginia successful September, aft the resignation of Erik Siebert. Shortly earlier Halligan took office, Mr. Trump penned a Truth Social connection urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to look into Comey and James.
Last week, lawyers for James and Comey faced off against the Justice Department earlier a national judge, arguing that the indictments Halligan has handed should beryllium dismissed due to the fact that her assignment is unlawful.
Both Comey and James are besides arguing that their indictments are "vindictive prosecutions," driven by Mr. Trump's longstanding idiosyncratic animus toward both.
James sued Mr. Trump and his institution for fraud successful 2022, alleging they misrepresented the worth of their properties to get much favorable lending terms. A justice sided with James and ordered Mr. Trump and the different defendants to wage much than $350 million, positive interest, but a New York appellate tribunal threw retired the dollar figure earlier this year, calling it "excessive." Mr. Trump has agelong denied immoderate wrongdoing successful the civilian fraud case.
Comey, meanwhile, has publically sparred with Mr. Trump since the president fired him arsenic FBI manager during his archetypal term.
James' lawyers successful Monday's filing wrote that medication officials "intend to punish AG James for daring to instrumentality a basal against the President—both successful this Court and by making the probe of her truthful nationalist and intrusive that the pre-trial process itself serves arsenic punishment."
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