Pam Bondi was blindsided when the president’s newly minted federal prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, took an indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James straight to a grand jury.
The former beauty queen, who took over Virginia’s Eastern District just two weeks ago, went completely rogue, ditching any coordination with the attorney general or her team, according to new reports.
James was indicted on bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. She has been under investigation for mortgage fraud since May over documents she filed to take out a mortgage to help her niece buy a home in Virginia.
Halligan did tell at least one Justice Department official that she was planning on moving forward with charging James, but ended up presenting the case alone to a grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia on Thursday, according to CNN.
Previous reports suggest that Bondi and her Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche viewed the mortgage fraud case against James as weak.
However, Trump demanded the DOJ move forward with its prosecution by dismissing Halligan’s predecessor, former US Attorney Erik Sibert, for not indicting James.
Initially, Halligan planned on bringing forward the case to a grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia rather than Arlington because she believed the jury would be more open to an indictment. The case will be prosecuted in Norfolk.
The DOJ denied CNN’s reporting.
Lindsey Halligan reportedly blindsided Pam Bondi following her indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James
Bondi and other top leaders at the DOJ were left in the dark as Halligan presented the indictment by herself to a grand jury in Virginia
James called the charges against her an example of the ‘weaponization’ of the DOJ under Trump
‘As a matter of law, we will not discuss any grand jury matters with the media, but this Justice Department is united as one team in our mission to make America safe again and the attorney general, deputy attorney general, along with the entire team at Main Justice continue to empower our US attorneys to pursue justice in every case,’ said a DOJ spokesperson.
Federal Investigators claimed that James falsified information on loan documents for a property she owns in Virginia in order to obtain more generous loans.
The indictment, obtained by the Daily Mail, claims she signed a ‘Second Home Rider, which required James, as the sole borrower, to occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, and prohibits its use as a timesharing or other shared ownership agreement or agreement that requires her to rent the property or give any other person control over the occupancy or use of the property.
‘Despite these representations, the Peronne Property was not occupied by James as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of [three],’ it continues.
Prosecutors also accused James of receiving a voided 0.815 percent higher mortgage rate, resulting in approximately $17,837 in savings over the course of the loan and was able to obtain a seller credit of approximately $3,288.
If found guilty, James could face up to 30 years in prison per count, along with a $1 million fine on each count and lose ownership of the properties cited in the indictment.
James has denied any wrongdoing and has called the DOJ’s indictment ‘a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.’
Trump was successfully prosecuted by James in 2023 for business fraud in New York City
Halligan took over as began running the Eastern District of Virginia two weeks ago
‘I am not fearful – I am fearless,’ said yesterday. ‘We will fight these baseless charges aggressively and my office will continue to fiercely protect New Yorkers and their rights.’
The New York attorney general, who campaigned on prosecuting Trump, launched a civil lawsuit against him in February 2023 for business fraud. Trump received a $500 million civil fraud penalty, along with other fines, but a New York appeals court tossed out the fine deeming it ‘excessive.’
Over the last few weeks, Bondi has faced intense pressure from Trump to prosecute political enemies, including former Director of the FBI James Comey.
Prior to Comey’s indictment, Trump sent out a Truth Social post demanding the attorney general speed up the process.
‘We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility,’ Trump wrote.
‘They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!’
Moreover, Trump’s DOJ loyalists have sought to prosecute other perceived enemies of the president. Appointees have justified their actions based on the unprecedented action of the DOJ to prosecute Trump while he was running for office during the 2024 election.
Prosecutors in Maryland intend to reportedly charge ex-Trump national security adviser turned critic John Bolton in the coming day with mishandling classified information.
Former FBI director Christopher Wray, who led the FBI during the agency’s raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Largo residence, is also facing a criminal probe along with former CIA director John Brennan.
