America First Legal files state bar complaint against New York AG Letitia James
New York Attorney General Letitia James is facing yet another challenge in the form of a state-level ethics complaint filed by the pro-Trump legal nonprofit America First Legal (AFL). This complaint adds to the recent controversies surrounding James, who is also under a criminal referral from the Trump administration for allegations of mortgage fraud.
AFL Vice President Dan Epstein criticized James for using her position to target the former president for political purposes. He stated that public accountability is necessary to address James’ alleged abuse of power and endless legal battles. The complaint was filed with the New York State Unified Court System’s Committee on Professional Standards, calling for an investigation into James over accusations of mortgage fraud made by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
The FHFA Director, William Pulte, recently sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice, accusing James of falsifying mortgage records to obtain more favorable loans. AFL believes that James’ actions violate the New York State Bar Association’s rules of professional conduct, which prohibit lawyers from engaging in illegal conduct or dishonesty that could impact their trustworthiness.
In response to these accusations, James has hired high-powered attorney Abbe Lowell to defend her. The decision to hire Lowell was partly based on the belief that the criminal referral is politically motivated retaliation for James’ civil case against Donald Trump last year for alleged loan fraud. Lowell has dismissed the allegations against James as politically motivated and hypocritical, given the Trump administration’s accusations of politicization in the Justice Department.
In his defense of James, Lowell refuted the accusations of listing a Virginia home as her primary residence while serving in New York, attributing it to a mistake in a power-of-attorney letter. He also disputed claims of inflating the number of units in a Brooklyn residence for better interest rates, citing updated documentation indicating it as a four-unit property.
The AFL’s bar complaint against James has raised questions about potential disciplinary actions by the New York State Unified Court System. The New York State Bar Association declined to comment, deferring to the court system for handling attorney discipline. The controversy surrounding Letitia James continues to unfold, with legal battles and ethics complaints adding to the challenges she faces as the state’s attorney general.
