Much of the nation was caught by surprise when a federal criminal indictment was announced this week against Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James for alleged mortgage fraud.

That reportedly includes U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who allegedly believed the case was "weak" and was not kept informed ahead of its presentation to a grand jury in Virginia, according to the Daily Mail.

For her part, James has insisted that the charges against her are "baseless" and politically motivated retribution by President Donald Trump, whom she sought to financially ruin with a massive civil case against his namesake organization last year.

Bondi was not kept informed of impending indictment

CNN reported that Attorney General Bondi was "caught off guard" by Thursday's indictment of New York Attorney General James by newly appointed U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan in the Eastern District of Virginia, according to multiple unnamed sources.

Halligan allegedly did not coordinate with Bondi or other top Justice Department officials on the filed charges or timing of the grand jury presentation, though she did recently inform at least one senior official of her plans to move forward with the case.

The sources asserted that Bondi, along with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, agreed with Halligan's predecessor, former U.S. Attorney Erik Seibert, that the allegations against James of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution were "weak" and not worthy of further pursuit.

Pressed for comment, a DOJ spokesman appeared to neither confirm nor deny the anonymously sourced report.

"As a matter of law, we will not discuss any grand jury matters with the media," Chad Gilmartin said, "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 U.S. attorneys to pursue justice in every case."

Charged with alleged mortgage fraud in Virginia

The Associated Press reported that, according to the indictment, New York AG James is alleged to have purchased a home in Norfolk, Virginia, under false pretenses in 2020, in that she attested that it was to serve as a "second home" for her in which she would personally reside for at least one year.

However, given that she actually lives and works in New York, the Virginia home was rented out to another family.

That constitutes mortgage fraud, in that the misrepresentation allowed James to obtain more favorable terms for loans and insurance that wouldn't otherwise be available for an investment or rental property.

If convicted, according to the Daily Mail, James could face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for each count, in addition to having the properties listed in the indictment seized by the federal government.

"No one is above the law"

"These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost," James said in a statement denying the charges, per the AP. "The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties."

However, U.S. Attorney Halligan borrowed James' oft-used refrain when she was attempting to financially destroy President Trump and his family business, and quipped, "No one is above the law."

"The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust," the federal prosecutor added. "The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served."