Last month saw New York Attorney General Letitia James plead not guilty to federal charges that she engaged in mortgage fraud.

Her case took another twist this past week when the high-profile Democrat moved to have her charges dismissed.

Defense team blames charges on Trump's "genuine animus towards her"

According to Breitbart, James' defense team submitted a motion on Friday which maintained that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is politically targeting her.

"The government targeted AG James for prosecution because of the President’s genuine animus towards her protected campaign speech and fulfillment of her statutory obligations as New York Attorney General," the motion read.

"This indictment is the product of vindictive and selective prosecution, in violation of the Fifth Amendment," the filing went on to add.

Those assertions echo claims which the Democratic state attorney general herself made when speaking to reporters outside of court on October 24.

Federal Housing Finance Agency pointed to suspicious lending documents

"This is about a justice system which has been weaponized. A justice system which has been used as a tool of revenge," she declared.

Letitia James speaks outside court:

"This is about a justice system which has been weaponized. A justice system which has been used as a tool of revenge." 🤣 pic.twitter.com/EwnWWW00sc

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) October 24, 2025

ABC News reported that James' legal troubles started in April when Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Pulte explained James had cited a property located in Norfolk, Virginia as her "principal residence" when filling out a mortgage application.

She did this "despite being a statewide public office holder in the state of New York at that same time and primarily residing in the state of New York."

Appeals court threw out civil judgment that James won against Trump

What's more, Pulte also pointed to a July of 2024 building permit which listed a property in New York as being "the 'JAMES RESIDENCE.'"

James' contention that she is the victim of a political prosecution is ironic given how President Donald Trump made the same complaint after she secured a half-billion-dollar civil judgment against him last year.

A New York state appellate later threw out the ruling, with Justice David Friedman writing that James' "ultimate goal was not market hygiene … but political hygiene, ending with the derailment of President Trump’s political career and the destruction of his real estate business."