On October 9, 2025, New York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia on charges of bank fraud and making false statements, linked to a 2020 Norfolk property purchase where she allegedly misrepresented it as her primary residence and her father as her spouse to secure better loan terms. James pleaded not guilty on October 24, but the charges were dismissed without prejudice on November 24, and two subsequent grand juries declined to re-indict her in December, meaning the case never went to trial. The prosecution was widely viewed as politically motivated, as it followed President Donald Trump's repeated calls to target his opponents, and was spearheaded by Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump personal attorney he appointed as interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Career prosecutors who had earlier found insufficient evidence were fired, including Elizabeth Yusi, who had written a memo detailing the lack of probable cause. The saga began in April 2025 when Bill Pulte, Trump's FHFA pick, referred James to the DOJ, leading to an FBI probe in May, but the case ultimately collapsed, underscoring the intense political tensions surrounding the justice system.