Bill Pulte, the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, on Wednesday issued two new criminal referrals for New York Attorney General Letita James, seeking to renew the Trump administration’s efforts to target the Democratic official despite several previous attempts failing in court.
CNN first reported the referrals for “suspected homeowners insurance fraud,” which were filed with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
The referrals allege James submitted fraudulent homeowner insurance applications with companies in Illinois and Florida.
James’ legal counsel said in a statement that the Trump administration is perpetuating an “improper revenge campaign.”
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“Frustrated by repeated failures, where judges and grand juries have rejected their attempts to charge Attorney General James, Trump and his political enablers keep abusing their power to pursue a vendetta against her by trying to rename, refile, and repeat baseless allegations,” her lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said in a statement to CNN.
Pulte first referred James to the Justice Department last year, alleging that she had falsified a loan application for her residence in Norfolk, Virginia.
The case was dismissed in November, along with others brought forward by Trump-appointed prosecutor Lindsay Halligan, after a federal judge deemed she had “no lawful authority” to serve in the role.
The Justice Department then tried to secure a grand jury indictment against James in December, but ultimately failed.
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