New York State Attorney General Letitia James speaks to the media after attending a hearing and pleading not guilty to charges of defrauding mortgage lenders in front of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. on October 24, 2025.
Jonathan Ernst | Reuters
Federal prosecutors on Thursday failed for the second time in their bid to persuade a grand jury in Virginia to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on criminal charges, according to multiple reports.
For the past two weeks, the Justice Department has been seeking to obtain a new indictment against James after a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed an original indictment charging him with bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a mortgage loan. James denies any wrongdoing.
It is highly unusual for a grand jury to refuse to indict someone despite the prosecutor’s request for an indictment.
The indictment against James and another indictment in the same district against former FBI Director James Comey were both dismissed after Judge Cameron Curry ruled that the appointment of Lindsay Harrigan, interim top prosecutor in the Eastern District, to the position was invalid.
Mr. Halligan presented evidence against Mr. James and Mr. Comey to separate grand juries.
President Donald Trump had called for the prosecution of James and Comey. Mr. Harrigan is his former personal attorney.
“For the second time in seven days, the Justice Department has failed in President Trump’s apparent attempt to exact a political vendetta against Attorney General James,” Abby Rowell, a lawyer for Mr. James, said in a statement.
“This unprecedented denial makes it even clearer that this case should never have seen the light of day,” Rowell said. “Career prosecutors who knew better refused to indict, and now two different grand juries in two different cities are refusing to grant these baseless charges.”
“This incident has already damaged the department’s reputation and raises worrying questions about its integrity,” he said. “Further attempts to reinstate these discredited charges would make a mockery of our justice system.”
CNBC has reached out to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, which had sought charges against James, for comment.
James is a longtime opponent of President Trump.
In a civil suit filed by Mr. James against Mr. Trump, his company, and his adult sons, a New York judge found Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization liable for business fraud for years of misrepresenting the true value of real estate assets and grossly exaggerating his net worth.
In August, a state appeals court reversed the fines against Trump and the other defendants, which totaled more than $500 million. However, the same court upheld a finding that Mr. Trump engaged in corporate fraud.
The Department of Justice manual states, “If a grand jury returns without an invoice or acts on the merits of refusing to return an indictment, the same matter (i.e., the same transaction or event and the same putative defendant) may not be submitted to another grand jury or resubmitted to the same grand jury without first securing the approval of the responsible United States attorney.”
This is developing news. Please check the latest information.
