James decries Trump’s ‘weaponisation’ of the justice system after second failed attempt to federally prosecute her.

A 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.

In 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.

Vows of retribution

After 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 three high-profile critics of Trump hit with federal criminal charges in recent months, alongside former FBI director James Comey and former Trump national security adviser John Bolton.

A case against Comey, who led investigations into alleged collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, was also dismissed in late November by Judge Currie, citing the same unlawful appointment of Halligan.

Bolton has pleaded not guilty to federal charges accusing him of sharing sensitive government information with two relatives and retaining “documents, writings, and notes” containing classified material.