OPINION:
New York Attorney General Letitia James has been indicted in federal court on charges of bank fraud and lying to a financial institution. And now the woman who was the smiling face of lawfare against President Trump has turned herself into the calm-but-resolute civil rights-fighting prayer warrior.
She’s found her faith.
She’s proudly standing on her faith.
She’s proudly sharing her faith as she declares her innocence.
“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” James said in a video response to her indictments.
“He’s forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding — all because I did my job as a New York State attorney general,” she said,
“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution,” she said.
“I’m a proud woman of faith, and I know that faith and fear cannot share the same space, and today I’m not fearful. I’m fearless,” she said.
There’s a lot there to unpack.
For instance, when James announced her run for the governor’s mansion in October of 2021 — only to suspend it six weeks later, by the way — she said this: “I’ve sued the Trump administration 76 times. But who’s counting?”
Apparently, she was.
Prior, in December of 2020, one Essence headline ran: “New York AG Letitia James Says The Investigations Into Trump Will Continue.”
On ABC’s “The View” in December of 2020, James responded to claims from Trump that she was harassing him with this: “Protecting our environment, protecting immigrants, protecting the rights of women, protecting dreamers, protecting the Affordable Care Act, protecting the Postal Service, and the list goes on. … It’s important that the president of the United States understand that no one is above the law.”
Hold that thought.
Now James has been indicted on two counts. A few months ago, the Federal Housing Finance Authority reported that James had claimed a home in Norfolk, Virginia, as her primary residence so as to obtain better loan terms, and saving nearly $19,000 — even as she was living in New York and serving as attorney general. The Authority also accused James of misrepresenting information on a loan application for her Brooklyn, New York, home years ago, and on yet a third loan, also misstated information about a family relationship.
She denies any wrongdoing.
To repeat from above, James said: “These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution.”
And yet: “No one is above the law,” said Lindsey Halligan, the acting U.S. attorney in Eastern Virginia.
So James is reacting as all Democrats act when they’re caught doing that which they’ve accused: they throw down the faith card.
James was once the smiling face of “Get Donald” in court, the one caught on camera grinning away as the weaponized legal system hammered away at the Trump family.
“Letitia James’ Courtroom Smile,” Newsweek wrote in one November 2023 headline, “Goes Viral.”
Now she’s refashioned herself into the face of stoic faith, denying all fear. What a trooper. Maybe God will hear her prayers and grant her $19,000 — and a corner cell.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “God-Given Or Bust: Defeating Marxism and Saving America With Biblical Truths,” is available by clicking HERE.
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