James decries Trump’s ‘weaponisation’ of the justice system after second failed attempt to federally prosecute her.Published On 5 Dec 20255 Dec 2025Click here to share on social mediashare2ShareA federal grand jury has rejected prosecutors’ attempt to revive a criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James, after a judge previously threw out charges levelled against the prominent critic of United States President Donald Trump.The indictment on Thursday marks the Department of Justice’s second failed attempt to prosecute James, an elected Democrat against whom Trump had vowed retribution after her office brought a civil fraud case against him and his family business.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listIn November, US District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie dismissed a mortgage fraud case against James after finding that the federal prosecutor who secured the indictment, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed.James has maintained that the attempts to prosecute her are blatantly political. On Thursday, she again said allegations against her were “baseless” as she called for the “unchecked weaponisation of our justice system to stop”.Her lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said any effort to continue the case would constitute “a shocking assault on the rule of law and a devastating blow to the integrity of our justice system”.“The grand jury’s refusal to re-indict Attorney General James is a decisive rejection of a case that should never have existed in the first place,” Lowell said in a statement.Despite the grand jury’s decision, federal prosecutors are still reportedly planning to seek a new indictment against James, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two unnamed sources familiar with the matter. Advertisement Vows of retributionAfter James’s office brought the civil case against Trump, a Judge in 2024 ordered him to pay a $450m penalty after finding he fraudulently overstated his net worth to mislead lenders.A New York state appeals court in August threw out the penalty but upheld the judge’s finding that Trump was liable for fraud.Trump has repeatedly said the case was part of a political “witch-hunt” against him that also included four since-dropped criminal cases following his first term.James is one of thre …
