Indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James was defiant Monday in her first public appearance since being hit with federal charges over allegations she committed bank fraud and lied to a financial institution to obtain a lower mortgage rate.
“We see powerful voices trying to silence truth and punish dissent and weaponize justice for political gain,” James told supporters of Zohran Mamdani at a rally for the New York City mayoral frontrunner in Washington Heights.
“We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy, the erosion of our system of government,” the Empire State’s top prosecutor argued, describing the current state of politics as “a defining moment in our history.”
James, who is facing 60 years behind bars if convicted of the two charges against her, called on rally-goers to “stand together to defend our rights.”
“To protect every safeguard, every institution, every immigrant, every norm and every rule of law,” the indicted prosecutor continued.
“I know what it feels like to be attacked for just doing your job,” James said. “But I also know what it feels like to overcome adversity. And so I stand on solid rock.”
“I will not bow! I will not break! I will not bend! I will not capitulate! I will not give in! I will not give up!” she screamed.
“You come for me, you got to come through all of us! Every single – all of us. We’re all in this together.”
Amid her legal woes, James said that “over the last few days” she’s “summoned” the “strength” and “courage” of her ancestors.
She vowed to “keep fighting the aggressive policies of Washington, DC” and reiterated that she won’t “give up” or “give in.”
“I fear no man,” James declared.
The raucous crowd gave James a standing ovation when she took the stage and at the conclusion of her remarks, and chanted, “We love Tish! We love Tish!”
James also gave Mamdani a full-throated endorsement, describing the socialist as her “very good friend” and “little brother.”
The Eastern District of Virginia handed up the indictment against James last week.
The Justice Department alleges that James misrepresented how she would use a Norfolk, Va., property she purchased in 2020 on documents for a $109,600 mortgage loan.
James agreed to a “Second Home Rider” when she took out the loan, according to the indictment, which required the attorney general to “occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, and prohibited its use as a timesharing or other shared ownership arrangement or agreement that requires her either to rent the property or give any other person any control over the occupancy or use of the property.”
“Despite these representations,” prosecutors wrote, the Norfolk property “was not occupied or used by James as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property.”
The “misrepresentation” allowed James to obtain a mortgage rate that would not have been available had she informed the lender that she planned to rent the home out, according to the DOJ.
Her “ill-gotten gains” from the lower mortgage rate amounted to “approximately $18,933 over the life of the loan,” prosecutors allege.
Read the full article here
