A federal grand jury on Thursday rejected prosecutors’ attempt to revive a criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James, Reuters reported. The decision came after US District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie threw out an initial set of charges, finding in November that the prosecutor who secured that indictment, Lindsey Halligan, was unlawfully appointed.The indictment would have marked the Justice Department’s second attempt to prosecute James, an elected Democrat and prominent critic of President Donald Trump. Prosecutors plan to seek a new indictment, the two sources added. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.Prosecutors rarely struggle to obtain indictments from grand juries, since the govt alone presents evidence and must only show probable cause that a crime was committed. Grand juries have rejected several proposed charges during Trump’s second term, but James is the most high-profile rejection yet.James is one of three high-profile Trump critics hit with federal criminal charges in recent months, along with former FBI Director James Comey and John Bolton, a former Trump national security adviser. Currie also dismissed the case against Comey, ruling that Halligan’s appointment as interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia was impermissible. Bolton pleaded not guilty to federal charges brought in Maryland.James initially pleaded not guilty to charges of bank fraud and lying to a financial institution. The initial indictment accused her of misleading on mortgage documents to secure more favourable loan terms for a home she owns in Norfolk, Virginia.Trump has long assailed James over a civil fraud case she brought against him and his family business, which resulted in a more than Rs 3,735 crore (approx) penalty after a judge found in 2024 that Trump fraudulently overstated his net worth to dupe lenders. A New York state appeals court in August threw out the penalty, which had grown to more than half a billion dollars with interest, but upheld the trial judge’s finding that Trump was liable for fraud. Both Trump and James’ office are appealing to the state’s highest court.A California doctor was sentenced to 2½ years in prison on Wednesday for illegally supplying ‘Friends’ sitcom star Matthew Perry with ketamine.
