Judge Hands DOJ Win In Letitia James’ Mortgage Fraud Case
A federal judge has declined to require prosecutors in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ mortgage fraud case to document their contacts with the media, despite reports that a lead U.S. attorney exchanged disappearing encrypted messages with a journalist covering the investigation.
Defense attorney Abbe Lowell filed the motion after James was arraigned last week on charges including bank fraud and making false statements. The request cited reporting that U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan used Signal to communicate with a reporter about the case — with messages set to auto-delete, according to the New York Post.
U.S. District Judge Jamar Walker issued a six-page ruling rejecting the defense request.
“[T]he defendant does not demonstrate that it is necessary for the Court to order the government to track communications with the media in any particular form,” Walker wrote.
“The defendant’s request that the government be required to keep a communication log is DENIED,” he stated.
Walker acknowledged that Halligan’s encrypted conversation with Lawfare senior editor Anna Bower was “unusual,” but did not conclude whether the exchange violated legal, ethical, or procedural rules. Instead, he instructed federal prosecutors to comply with all court requirements going forward.
He also issued a litigation hold directing the government to preserve all materials relevant to the case — a response to concerns over the auto-deleting Signal chats, which reportedly disappeared eight hours after being sent.
However, Walker did not rule on whether Halligan’s communications should be considered evidence subject to discovery, writing that he was “not persuaded that preservation of evidence related to the government’s communications requires such evidence be maintained in any particular form.”
“The Court trusts that counsel on both sides will comply with this Order without further handholding,” he added.
Prosecutors, in turn, attempted to impose a gag order on James — a request Walker declined.
James pleaded not guilty last week to one count of bank fraud and one count of making a false statement to a financial institution. The charges center on her 2020 purchase of a three-bedroom Norfolk home using a $109,600 mortgage that included a “second home rider” identifying her as the sole occupant — a classification that reduced her loan costs by nearly $19,000.
Prosecutors say she never lived in the home and instead used it as a rental property for her grandniece, Nakia Thompson.
If convicted, James faces a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison and $2 million in fines — a stunning fall for the Democrat who built her political brand around pursuing criminal cases against President Donald J. Trump and his associates.
Meanwhile, a separate ruling last week from Judge Cameron McGowan Currie — appointed under the Clinton administration — ordered the Department of Justice to provide internal records related to Halligan’s involvement in the prosecutions of both James and former FBI Director James Comey. The records were submitted under seal for private judicial review only.
The review took place at the Matthew J. Perry U.S. Courthouse in Columbia, South Carolina, according to reports.