President Donald Trump awards Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, New York Attorney General Letitia James&#8217; grandniece may be a fugitive from the law, and the U.K.&#8217;s Labour Party turns to digital ID to curb illegal immigration.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Awards Charlie Kirk The Highest Civilian Honor</h2>
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Topline: President Trump posthumously honored Charlie Kirk on Tuesday, on what would have been Kirk’s 32nd birthday, with the country’s highest civilian award: the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In front of a large audience in the Rose Garden, the president presented the award to Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk. The event was attended by many family members, friends, and acquaintances of Kirk from within the administration, Kirk’s conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, and elsewhere.
“Five weeks ago, our nation was robbed of this extraordinary champion. He was a champion in every way — I got to know him so well,” said Trump. “It was a horrible, heinous, demonic act of murder. He was assassinated in the prime of his life for boldly speaking the truth, for living his faith, and relentlessly fighting for a better and stronger America. He loved this country, and that’s why this afternoon, it’s my privilege to posthumously award Charles James Kirk our nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
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Erika Kirk also spoke at the event.
“Today, we’re gathered not only to celebrate Charlie’s birthday, but to honor a truth that he gave his entire life to defend, and that’s freedom. The very existence of the Presidential Medal of Freedom reminds us that the national interest of the United States has always been freedom,” she said.
“Our founders etched it into the preamble of our Constitution, and those words are not relics on parchment; they are a living covenant. The blessings of liberty are not man’s invention, they are God’s endowment. Charlie lived for those blessings, not as abstract words, but as sacred promises,” she added.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Letitia James’s Fugitive Family Member</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-986113" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Letitia-Shelters-Fugitive-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Letitia-Shelters-Fugitive-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Letitia-Shelters-Fugitive-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Letitia-Shelters-Fugitive-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Letitia-Shelters-Fugitive-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Letitia-Shelters-Fugitive.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: New York Attorney General Letitia James may have sheltered a fugitive in her Virginia home for the past five years. 
James was charged with bank fraud last week for allegedly lying on mortgage papers to get a lower interest rate on a house in Virginia. While James owns the home, the current tenant is her grandniece, Nakia Thompson, and her three children, who have lived in the house since 2020. 
Thompson is officially listed as an “absconder” in the database of North Carolina’s Department of Adult Correction, according to the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15187603/letitia-james-niece-virginia-home-fugitive.html">Daily Mail</a>. She’s wanted by authorities in Forsyth County for skipping out on her probation.
A spokesman for the North Carolina Department of Corrections said Thompson was “sentenced to probation for misdemeanor convictions for assault and battery and trespassing.” He confirmed that she is considered a fugitive from the state, but he added that because her crimes are considered low-level, she is “non-extraditable.”
Won’t stay silent: In opposition to the standard legal advice to keep quiet after being charged with a crime, James is loudly speaking out against the Department of Justice, claiming to be a victim of a political prosecution.
“We see powerful voices trying to silence truth and punish dissent and, yes, weaponize justice for political gain. We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy, the erosion of our system of government,” said James at a rally for New York City mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani on Monday evening.
Limiting her ability to attract supporters to her cause, James is perceived widely on the right to be guilty of pushing the same kind of political prosecutions she is now denouncing. James campaigned for New York attorney general on a platform of investigating President Trump.
After winning her election, James eventually pursued Trump on a civil charge related to defrauding banks, though no banks claimed to have ever been defrauded by Trump. James won the case in a bench trial, and Trump was hit with a civil penalty of nearly half a billion dollars. That penalty was later thrown out by an appeals court in a major victory for the president.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">U.K.’s Labour Turns To Digital ID To Curb Illegal Immigration</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-986111" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Britain-Tries-Digital-ID-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Britain-Tries-Digital-ID-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Britain-Tries-Digital-ID-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Britain-Tries-Digital-ID-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Britain-Tries-Digital-ID-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/10/Britain-Tries-Digital-ID.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The U.K. recently approved a controversial new law that mandates a digital ID as a way to curb illegal immigration. Morning Wire spoke with Guy Dampier, senior researcher on nationhood at the Prosperity Institute, about the new law. (The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.)
Morning Wire: So, Guy, a lot of frustration boiling over in the U.K. right now over immigration, and now we have this heated debate over digital ID. Let’s start with Prime Minister Starmer – he’s defending his party’s immigration policies and accusing the conservative Reform party of pushing supposedly “racist” policies. Catch us up, what’s the story here?
Dampier: The issue is Reform’s policy on residency for immigrants. &#8220;Indefinite Leave to Remain&#8221; means that an immigrant can, after five years, get access to the same welfare benefits as a British citizen. The vast majority of people who get ILR will stay forever. That matters because in the last few years, there was an immigration wave of around 4 million people. Most of those were low-skilled and will be a drain on the taxpayer. One estimate said that it would cost around £80 billion, another said over £200 billion. Whatever the true figure is, it will be a huge cost at a time when the British economy is doing very badly. Reform have announced that they will abolish ILR, forcing those who have come to apply for new visas, which will include new checks on their qualifications and language skills. That also matters because the current rules are incredibly lax. The language test only requires that you have B1 English, which is enough to struggle through a book for small children, but nowhere near enough what you need just to read a newspaper. As most of these 4 million migrants come from Africa and the Indian subcontinent, Labour have branded it “racist.” 
Morning Wire: Now, the Labour Party has actually also admitted that this &#8220;Indefinite Leave to Remain&#8221; law needs to be reformed. What are they suggesting?
Dampier: This is why it is so incoherent. They were calling Nigel Farage racist. On Monday, they announced policies that were not a million miles away. The Home Secretary, Shababa Mahmood, has said that immigrants who want residency will now need better English skills, no criminal record, and evidence that they have volunteered in the community to show that they are integrating. The problem for Labour is that while they want to win over voters who are upset about immigration, they don’t really believe in reducing immigration. So they end up promising things they won’t deliver, and then when they get called out, they lash out. The problem for Britain is very simple: the country has become rapidly more foreign, with over 16% of people born overseas. Most of those came in the last few decades or even the last few years. This is changing the face of the country: around 38% of school children are now from an ethnic minority group. At the same time the economy has ground to a halt. And there is increasing evidence that migrants are overrepresented when it comes to accessing welfare and committing crime. So people are asking a simple question: if we want fewer immigrants, and if immigration isn’t good for the economy, then why are politicians refusing to seriously reduce the numbers?
Morning Wire: As we mentioned at the top, we also have this new digital ID that’s supposed to help crack down on illegal workers. But that has been very controversial. How would that work?
Dampier: This is the so-called Brit card. Labour have long been advocates for digital ID. In fact, the last Labour government, over a decade ago actually introduced ID cards. But they were immediately scrapped by the conservative government which followed them. Labour are now arguing that it would stop illegal immigrants from being able to work and rent. But there is already a digital Visa verification system which is supposed to do this. It just isn’t adhered to. There’s no reason to think that this would be any different. In fact, there are many European countries which already have ID cards and still have a major problem with illegal immigration. In Germany, for example, you are supposed to carry your ID card with you everywhere. But the country has one of the highest numbers of illegal immigrants in all of Europe. This won’t really fix the problem. What it will do is add on another layer of bureaucracy and further reduce the freedom of native British people. There is also another potential danger. Paul Mason, a well-known Labour activist who is close to the senior leadership of the party, suggested that digital ID could be used to help regularise the illegal immigrants who are already here. That is somewhere between 3/4 of 1 million and 2 million people. Instead of discouraging illegal immigration, it could end up being used to reward it.

MRN_251015_V1

Morning Brief: Trump Honors Kirk, Letitia James Accused Of Housing Fugitive, UK Advances Digital ID

Morning Brief: Trump Honors Charlie Kirk, Letitia James’ Crime Family, And UK Digital ID

Charlie Kirk

Donald Trump

Keir Starmer

Letitia James

Media

Morning Wire

New York

Politics

United Kingdom

Virginia

White House

Federal prosecutors reportedly indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday after a months-long investigation into potential mortgage fraud.
Lindsey Halligan, Trump’s former personal lawyer who the president installed as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last month, presented the case for the indictment to the grand jury, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/justice-department-secures-indictment-of-new-york-attorney-general-letitia-james-0cc2ce4f?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAjz3_xVxqjqGd7DOAjeW9OF_fgoGbzqZNeWtCjLpTn-BtEnWes9wDcj_m33JUg%3D&amp;gaa_ts=68e822e1&amp;gaa_sig=8uhDExWB_EYX_l_bkm5ln2OOTBmY2wZMaB-DdqgJDjcxIxhcKe5QqAAS2ER6wvES1alU0eaHvP7KW_UXYdeMtA%3D%3D">The Wall Street Journal</a>. The Justice Department has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/payback-trump-admin-targets-new-york-ag-letitia-james-over-housing-fraud">investigated</a> James since May over a mortgage she took out in 2023.
The indictment against James accused her of bank fraud, according to WSJ.
In a statement on Thursday, James <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1976404730038391230">said</a> that the charges against her are a result of the “weaponization” of a justice system directed at her “all because I did my job as New York state attorney general.”
“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,” said James.
To ascend to the office of state attorney general, James campaigned on investigating and prosecuting Trump. She won a civil penalty against the president of $450 million. In the case, James accused Trump of inflating his worth to defraud lenders, though no lenders had claimed that they were defrauded. An appeals court in August <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/appeals-court-throws-trumps-454-million-civil-fraud/story?id=124848691">tossed</a> the nearly-half billion dollar penalty dropped on Trump in James&#8217; civil suit.
The investigation into James stemmed from an April <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/documents/1ffb28b3-31d0-4df6-9694-7e970c059050.pdf?itid=lk_inline_manual_9">referral</a> to the Department of Justice made by federal housing regulator Bill Pulte, who said James “falsified records” to get more favorable loan terms on a Virginia property.
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“Based on media reports, Ms. Letitia James has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms. This has potentially included 1) falsifying residence status for a Norfolk, Virginia-based home in order to secure a lower mortgage rate and 2) misrepresenting property descriptions to meet stringent requirements for government backed loans and government assistance,” said Pulte’s letter.
Trump appointed Halligan as interim U.S. attorney last month after <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115239044548033727">expressing</a> frustration over the pace of investigations into some of his top political and legal foes, including James and former FBI chief James Comey. Halligan brought charges against Comey last month of allegedly making a false statement and obstructing a congressional hearing.

Letitia James Indicted Following DOJ Probe Into 2023 Sweetheart Home Loan

Crime

Department of Justice

U.S.

Every time someone fires at President Trump in court and misses, it makes him stronger.
The turning point in the 2024 election wasn&#8217;t even the assassination attempt or even Joe Biden dropping out.
It was the Mar-a-Lago raid. That raid turned the entire election on its head, because people rightly believed that Trump was being politically persecuted.
On Thursday, there was another case of someone firing at Trump legally and missing.
You might recall a decision that came down last year from a New York court and a trial judge that found Trump was liable for fraud. Why? Because when he was getting loans, he had supposedly made statements about his properties and the value of his properties, and then he got loans based on the value of the properties.
None of those loans were in default. He ended up paying back all of those loans. No lenders complained about any of this.
But New York State Attorney General Letitia James decided she was going to target him. So she jerry-rigged an entire case that violated the actual essence of the law — because the law was not designed for any of this.
James had actually put out a tweet in February 2024 celebrating the amount Trump was fined: $464,576,230.62.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2265-member-exclusive?elementPosition=4&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/ny-appeals-court-throws-out-500-million-civil-fraud-judgment-against-trump-c556d887?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAguMmZjVZl0arP456l7GRMObgKK8fjnRl1FgKAaMZSg4XdNIVN6ckGrsP1q61I%3D&amp;gaa_ts=68a8cb47&amp;gaa_sig=ETQOYr5qhHGImG5q168H_WjgueZJuCsEXZ4qSbx65exAOqWJTG-CcWXTLUIgZKmmqjJpMqHND0VhTfBkJZBaXg%3D%3D">The Wall Street Journal</a>: 
<blockquote>A New York appeals court threw out a more than $500 million penalty against President <a href="https://www.wsj.com/topics/person/donald-trump">Trump</a> and his business empire, in a sharply splintered ruling that paves the way for further proceedings before the state’s highest court. 
The decision on Thursday from <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/court-split-leaves-trumps-civil-fraud-appeal-stuck-in-slow-lane-8ca09956?mod=article_inline">a five-judge panel</a> of the New York Appellate Division’s First Department is a significant legal boost for Trump, freeing him, for now, from a massive penalty that caused him financial headaches last year. …
“While harm certainly occurred, it was not the cataclysmic harm that can justify a nearly half billion-dollar award to the State,” Justice Peter Moulton wrote…</blockquote>
This was a bizarre award in the first place, given the fact that the supposed crime was not committed against the state of New York. It was a misread of the law. Judge David Friedman said that the law that originally enabled Letitia James to sue President Trump was designed to protect consumers and the public marketplace from deception and consumer transactions. It was not designed to protect lenders, who were not the ones who were damaged.
The court <a href="https://prod-i.a.dj.com/public/resources/documents/Appeal.pdf">wrote</a>:
<blockquote>A.G. James&#8217;s suit turns section 63(12) on its head, the leniency with which the courts have construed the requirements for pleading and proving fraud under that section, a leniency that has been extended for the purposes of facilitating the use of the provision to prevent the exploitation of unsophisticated consumers, investors and small business, is here being used by Attorney General Letitia James to apply section 63(12) to a scenario to which that provision has never before been applied or even thought to apply.</blockquote>
The court basically said, “You have got to be kidding me. $500 million fine? Are you kidding me?”
So Letitia James put out a <a href="https://x.com/NewYorkStateAG/status/1958567967148449838">statement</a>, saying:
<blockquote>The First Department today affirmed the well-supported finding of the trial court: Donald Trump, his company and two of his children are liable for fraud. 
The court upheld the injunctive relief we won, limiting Donald Trump and the Trump Organization officers’ ability to do business in New York. It should not be lost to history: yet another court has ruled that the president violated the law, and that our case has merit. 
We will seek appeal to the Court of Appeals and continue to protect the rights and interests of New Yorkers. </blockquote>
She claimed that the part of the decision saying that her filing wasn&#8217;t illegal was a vindication for her.
But if the thing that she was bragging about went away, namely, a $500 billion penalty, then she lost.
And that&#8217;s the point that President Trump was making on Truth Social, <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115067582190707382">writing</a>:
<blockquote>TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case! I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State. Others were afraid to do business there. The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before. This was a Case of Election Interference by the City and State trying to show, illegally, that I did things that were wrong when, in fact, everything I did was absolutely CORRECT and, even, PERFECT. Every single Dollar was thrown out, even the penalties imposed on us by the Corrupt Judge, one of the most overturned in History, Arthur Engoron.
I wasn’t given a Jury and, during the course of the Trial, which lasted a long time, was not given one Ruling in my favor by this Political Hack, but worse than him, if that’s possible, was Letitia James, a Corrupt and Incompetent Attorney General who only brought this Case in order to hurt me politically. She is a Trump Deranged Lunatic! They made me bond the outrageous sum, which never happened before, and which cost me Millions of Dollars a month. It should have never been allowed to happen, and everyone knew it! Importantly, the Vote was 5 to 0. I am so honored by Justice David Friedman’s great words of wisdom, which should be read by everyone. I would also like to thank the Court for having the Courage to make this Decision, which is already going down as one of the worst business persecutions in the History of our Country. 
Sadly, there are other Cases against me that are equally disgraceful, including those headed up by Corrupt Judges, like Juan Merchan, whose daughter collected Millions of Dollars in Fees from Crooked Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, while her father shockingly REFUSED TO RECUSE himself from a vicious and corrupt trial, which is also under Appeal, one in which every Legal Pundit in New York said, “THERE WAS NO CASE!” — Even Editorial Boards said, “DO NOT DO THIS!” Judge Merchan gave me an unprecedented Gag Order, not letting me talk about him or his daughter, or the fact that the Appellate Judges thought he should not be doing the Case, but he did it anyway. Many Lawyers said that his daughter and him created the Greatest Conflict of Interest they had ever seen.</blockquote>
The bottom line: this was a big victory for Trump. Even CNN legal analyst Elie Hoenig, no ally of President Trump, said, “This is a huge win for Donald Trump, any way you cut it. And this is a stinging rebuke to the Attorney General Letitia James.”
That is correct.
And Trump just got stronger.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Still Winning: Court Kills $500M Anti-Trump Judgment

Ben Shapiro

Court

Lawsuit

Leftists

Opinion

A New York appeals court throws out the nearly half-billion-dollar penalty against Donald Trump in his civil fraud case, calling the fine &#8220;excessive&#8221; and unconstitutional. Texas leads a new push by red states to crack down on mail-order abortion pills, as Costco announces it will no longer stock mifepristone. The pace of deportations under President Trump surges to nearly 1,500 a day as the administration ramps up interior enforcement.
It’s Friday, August 22, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
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<h2>Trump’s Excessive Civil Fraud Fine Overturned</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-963949" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH1.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: A New York appeals court on Thursday handed Donald Trump a stunning legal victory, tossing out the nearly half-billion-dollar penalty in the civil fraud case brought against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James. 
In a major reversal, the court ruled that the disgorgement order, which directed Trump to pay nearly $465 million, was an &#8220;excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.” While the court did not overturn the underlying ruling that found Trump liable for fraud, it stated that the &#8220;cataclysmic harm that can justify a nearly half billion-dollar award to the state&#8221; did not occur.
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President Trump celebrated the decision on Truth Social, calling it a “TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!” One of the judges, David Friedman, appeared to agree with that assessment, 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.” 
The ruling allows Trump’s legal team to appeal the fraud finding to New York’s highest court. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice is conducting a separate investigation into whether James violated Trump’s civil rights and whether she committed mortgage fraud.
&nbsp;
<h2>Red States Escalate Fight Against Abortion Pills</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-963947" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH2-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH2.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: Republican-led states are escalating their efforts to restrict access to mail-order abortion pills, which now account for nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. 
Texas is leading the charge on two fronts. Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued cease-and-desist letters demanding that national organizations stop illegally shipping abortion pills into the state. The Texas legislature is also considering a bill that would allow private citizens to sue out-of-state manufacturers and distributors of abortion pills for wrongful death or harm. In Tennessee, Senator Marsha Blackburn (R) is calling on the DOJ to investigate whether abortion pill manufacturers misrepresented the drugs’ safety risks to the FDA. 
The battle is also playing out in corporate America. Last week, Costco announced it will no longer stock mifepristone at its U.S. pharmacies, citing low member demand. Lila Rose of the pro-life group Live Action celebrated the decision as a &#8220;major victory,&#8221; saying, &#8220;Costco is where you go to buy in bulk, not to buy pills or death in a bottle.&#8221; Pro-life activists are now pressuring other major retailers like Walgreens and CVS to follow suit.
<h2>Trump Ramps Up Deportations, Nears ‘Deporter-in-Chief’ Pace</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-963951" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH3-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH3-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH3-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH3-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.22.25-Fri-SH3.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: The pace of deportations under President Trump has surged to nearly 1,500 per day, a level rivaling the Obama administration, as the White House continues to ramp up interior immigration enforcement. 
According to The New York Times, daily deportations have hit nearly 1,500 a day. Unlike under the Obama administration, when most deportations were of aliens arrested at the border, these numbers reflect people arrested in the interior of the country, as the border has been effectively closed for months. The number of aliens held in detention has now reached nearly 60,000, and new detention centers are being brought online with the help of GOP governors. 
Immigration enforcement in federally controlled Washington, D.C., has been particularly effective. The Wall Street Journal reported that nearly half of the 465 arrests made since the federal takeover have been of illegal aliens. 
The crackdown has been met with defiance in sanctuary cities. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu recently held a press conference vowing not to cooperate with federal demands for &#8220;mass deportations.&#8221; An acting ICE field office director in Boston responded on Fox News, saying of Wu’s leadership, &#8220;I know what a safe Boston looks like and this isn’t it.&#8221;

MRN 8.22.25 Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: Trump’s $500 Million Fine Tossed & President On Track To Be Deporter-In-Chief

Abortion

Deportations

Illegal Immigration

Texas

New York Attorney General Letitia James staked her entire career on taking down President Donald Trump through highly controversial and unprecedented legal warfare — but now everything is falling apart.
James, who expressly campaigned on “leading the resistance&#8221; to &#8220;take on&#8221; the president, took another blow on Thursday, when an appeals court panel struck down the absurd penalty handed to Trump in a James-backed civil fraud case.
Trump quickly declared &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/total-victory-trump-triumphs-as-appeals-court-voids-excessive-civil-fraud-fine?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=%E2%80%98TOTAL+VICTORY%E2%80%99%3A+Trump+Triumphs+As+Appeals+Court+Voids+%E2%80%98Excessive%E2%80%99+Civil+Fraud+Fine">TOTAL VICTORY</a> in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!”
The case, initiated by James, was eye-popping. Trump was being targeted for allegedly presenting higher property values to lenders, but, notably, there are zero victims in the president&#8217;s supposed crimes — all loans were paid back.
Additionally, the fines totaled more than half a billion dollars. The appeals panel found the penalty against Trump unconstitutional, a violation of the Eighth Amendment, and dismissed it in its entirety.
One panelist took aim at James specifically, saying the AG was seeking the “derailment of President Trump’s political career and the destruction of his real estate business.”
Indeed, James ran on trying to destroy Trump, a venture she&#8217;s so far failed.
While running for AG in 2017, James asked New Yorkers to vote for her since she would go after Trump. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been leading the resistance against Donald Trump in NYC and will only continue to do so in every way possible,&#8221; she posted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I&#8217;ve been leading the resistance against Donald Trump in NYC and will only continue to do so in every way possible <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYCVotes?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NYCVotes</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NY1Politics?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NY1Politics</a>
— Tish James (@TishJames) <a href="https://twitter.com/TishJames/status/920076346646237185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
&#8220;I’m running for attorney general because I will never be afraid to challenge this illegitimate president when our fundamental rights are at stake,&#8221; she <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/21/politics/letitia-james-new-york-attorney-general">said</a> months later in 2018.
James followed up those comments by saying that her apparent hatred for Trump was fueling her campaign and her soul. &#8220;And what is fueling this campaign, what is fueling my soul right now, is Trump and his abuses, abuses against immigrants, against women, against our environment,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We need an attorney general who will stand up to Donald Trump.&#8221;
She also solicited donations by <a href="https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/trump-doj-letitia-james-indictment-war.html">vowing</a> to “take on&#8221; the president, promising to sue Trump before he was re-elected.
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It didn&#8217;t stop there. James made racial comments about Trump, like referring to him as &#8220;too pale,&#8221; routinely called him an illegitimate president, a con-man, and hurling other insults.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
New York AG Letitia James is under criminal investigation by the DOJ for “Deprivation of Rights”
Letitia James says she never targeted Donald Trump. Here’s a collection of clips of her literally campaigning promising to “Get Trump” and using a megaphone to chant “Lock him up” <a href="https://t.co/0qtmGFlFPR">pic.twitter.com/0qtmGFlFPR</a>
— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) <a href="https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/1953895364911878198?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
Additionally, James made a big political show of her lawfare campaign against the president. She personally attended the trial — something extremely uncommon for an AG — and sat in the front row. Video cameras captured James posing, offering smirks, and at other times, glaring at Trump from her seat.
<div id="attachment_963659" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-963659" class="wp-image-963659 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1772670084-864x576.jpg" alt="New York Attorney General Letitia James sits in the courtroom during the civil fraud trial of former President Donald Trump and his children at New York State Supreme Court on November 03, 2023 in New York City." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1772670084-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1772670084-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1772670084-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1772670084.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Dave Sanders-Pool/Getty Images</div>
Not only is James&#8217; civil fraud case against Trump falling apart, the AG is now facing her own legal battles. Ironically, it was James who routinely stressed that “no one is above the law” while prosecuting Trump.
James is facing a federal criminal referral over suspected mortgage fraud. The referral, sent by Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte, accuses James of falsifying loan records to secure favorable terms on a Virginia property she claimed was her primary residence while she was still serving in New York. Ironically, additional allegations involve a Brooklyn property misrepresented to lenders. Pulte says James’ actions could also constitute wire and bank fraud, among other federal charges.
Additionally, the Department of Justice this month reportedly launched a federal grand jury investigation into James over her civil suit against Trump. The DOJ is seeking more information, apparently looking to find out if James may have deprived Trump and his adult children of their rights as part of the case, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/08/08/nx-s1-5496351/letitia-james-justice-department-subpoena-trump#:~:text=Two%20sources%20told%20NPR%20the,role%20in%20Trump's%20first%20impeachment.">according</a> to NPR. The DOJ is also investigating her office&#8217;s conduct in its corruption case against the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Last week, Ed Martin, who serves as director of the DOJ&#8217;s Weaponization Working Group, called on James to resign from her post.
&#8220;Her resignation from office would give the people of New York and America more peace than proceeding. I would take this as an act of good faith,&#8221; Martin <a href="https://cbs4local.com/news/nation-world/ny-attorney-general-letitia-james-faces-calls-to-resign-in-act-of-good-faith-during-mortgage-fraud-inquiry-weaponization-working-group-ed-martin-abbe-lowell-lawyer-federal-housing-agency-director-bill-pulte-pam-bondi-fannie-mae-freddie-mac">said</a>.
James has armed herself with Attorney Abbe Lowell, who represented Hunter Biden, to face the investigations. Responding to Martin, Lowell — in what was truly a full-circle moment — charged that the Trump administration was weaponizing the government against his client.
&#8220;[D]espite the lack of evidence or law, you will take whatever actions you have been directed to take to make good on President Trump&#8217;s and Attorney General Bondi&#8217;s calls for revenge for that reason alone,&#8221; he said.
President Trump won the 2024 presidential election, despite James&#8217; best efforts. And he&#8217;s currently winning in the courts, working to shed James&#8217; attempt to destroy him personally.
Meanwhile, James has her hands full feeling what it&#8217;s like to not be &#8220;above the law.&#8221;

New York State Attorney General Letitia James makes an

Letitia James Went All-In To ‘Get Trump’ — Now It’s All Falling Apart

Courts

A New York appeals court on Thursday overturned the massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump, ruling the nearly half-billion-dollar fine was &#8216;excessive&#8217; under the Eighth Amendment.
The five-judge appeals court panel ruled that the $355 million penalty against Trump — not including interest — &#8220;is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-lawsuit-appeal-db39d93feff322eeeeedbc1ff75ccaf3">reported</a>. The total fine levied by Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron against Trump and other executives in the Trump Organization, including Eric and Donald Trump Jr., exceeded $527 million when interest was factored in.
The civil fraud case against Trump was brought by New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James, who alleged that Trump inflated his net worth to gain favorable terms from lenders. Judge Engoron sided with James, finding that between 2014 and 2021, the president overvalued his assets by up to $2.2 billion, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/21/trump-fraud-new-york-appeals.html">reported</a>. The judge ordered Trump to pay the massive fine, while also barring him from running his business in New York for three years.
While the appeals court threw out the massive fine, it kept the ruling in place that Trump committed fraud, leaving open the option for an appeal to the state&#8217;s highest court. The judges also kept the other penalties on Trump&#8217;s company in place, but said that the president can seek a further extension of the pause on those penalties.
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&#8220;TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115067582190707382">posted</a> on Truth Social. &#8220;I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State. Others were afraid to do business there. The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before. This was a Case of Election Interference by the City and State trying to show, illegally, that I did things that were wrong when, in fact, everything I did was absolutely CORRECT and, even, PERFECT.&#8221;
Judge David Friedman ripped James for bringing the lawsuit, writing, “Plainly, her ultimate goal was not ‘market hygiene’ &#8230; but political hygiene, ending with the derailment of President Trump’s political career and the destruction of his real estate business. The voters have obviously rendered a verdict on his political career. This bench today unanimously derails the effort to destroy his business.”
Appellate Division Judge Peter Moulton said in a concurring opinion that &#8220;the calculation of the disgorgement in this case was far from a reasonable approximation.&#8221; The panel, however, was divided in its ruling, issuing more than 300 pages of concurring and dissenting opinions, according to the AP. While most of the judges agreed that the penalty was excessive, there was disagreement over whether the attorney general&#8217;s lawsuit against Trump was justified. Two judges said it was, but another judge argued that James exceeded her authority, adding that a lawsuit should have been filed by one of Trump&#8217;s lenders if they felt cheated, but no lenders took legal action against Trump.
The Democratic attorney general filed the suit against Trump after vowing on the campaign trail to &#8220;take on&#8221; the then-Republican presidential frontrunner. In one campaign video, James <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/21/james-lawsuit-trump-longstanding-battle-00058128">blasted</a> Trump as &#8220;incompetent&#8221; and &#8220;an embarrassment to all that we stand for.&#8221; Trump maintained his innocence and fought back against the charges throughout the case, calling the suit a politically motivated &#8220;Witch Hunt.&#8221;
Trump appealed the civil fraud judgment in February 2024, with his attorney Alina Habba saying, &#8220;Letitia James is not going to get away with it; the Biden administration is not going to get away with it.”
“President Trump has done nothing wrong,&#8221; Habba added at the time. &#8220;All he has done is win a campaign, and that is scaring them because they know when he goes back in November 2024 he is going to clean house, and that is truly the problem.&#8221;
In his lengthy post on Truth Social following the court&#8217;s decision on Thursday, Trump added that James &#8220;only brought this Case in order to hurt me politically.&#8221;
&#8220;She is a Trump Deranged Lunatic! They made me bond the outrageous sum, which never happened before, and which cost me Millions of Dollars a month. It should have never been allowed to happen, and everyone knew it!&#8221;

‘TOTAL VICTORY’: Trump Triumphs As Appeals Court Voids ‘Excessive’ Civil Fraud Fine

Executive

The Trump administration is reportedly probing the office of Letitia James, the attorney general of New York, over her fraud case against President Donald Trump last year, which resulted in a penalty of more than half a billion dollars.
The Justice Department has opened an investigation into James&#8217; office, with the acting U.S. attorney in Albany hitting her with two subpoenas this week, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/doj-opens-investigation-new-york-ags-office-brought-fraud-case-trump-rcna223731">reports</a>.
One of the subpoenas relates to James&#8217; fraud case against Trump, while the other involves her case against the National Rifle Association.
The federal probe is looking at whether James violated Trump&#8217;s civil rights as well as the NRA&#8217;s during those cases.
Trump and James have been locked in multiple vicious legal battles for years.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
No one is above the law.
— Tish James (@TishJames) <a href="https://twitter.com/TishJames/status/1796292561264332946?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 30, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Shortly after she was elected in 2018, James <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/ny-s-attorney-general-one-most-powerful-nation-should-worry-n985086">promised</a> to &#8220;use every area of the law&#8221; to go after Trump, his family, and his business, and she has made good on that vow.
In 2022, James sued Trump, accusing the New York real estate mogul and his children of lying to lenders and insurers by inflating the value of his properties by billions of dollars, including Trump Tower in Manhattan and Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
She sought to prohibit Trump and his children from running a business in New York ever again.
A judge fined Trump $300 million in the case, which has since grown to more than $500 million with interest. Trump is appealing the decision.
&#8220;No one is above the law,&#8221; James posted on X in May of last year.
James&#8217; office also worked alongside the Manhattan district attorney&#8217;s office in its criminal investigation of Trump&#8217;s business.
On Friday, James’s lawyer <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/08/nyregion/letitia-james-subpoena-trump-doj.html">called</a> any investigation into Trump’s fraud case “the most blatant and desperate example of this administration carrying out the president’s political retribution campaign.”
&#8220;Weaponizing the Department of Justice to try to punish an elected official for doing her job is an attack on the rule of law and a dangerous escalation by this administration,&#8221; attorney Abbe Lowell added.
Trump has accused James of a vendetta against him, calling the suit a &#8220;witch hunt&#8221; and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63000691?utm_source=chatgpt.com">noting</a> that James referred to Trump as an “illegitimate president” during her campaign.
Last year, James&#8217; office won its civil fraud case against NRA head Wayne LaPierre, who led the gun rights powerhouse for more than 30 years before stepping down days before his trial.
A judge <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/judge-temporarily-bans-wayne-lapierre-returning-lead-national-rifle-as-rcna163637">banned</a> LaPierre from returning to lead the NRA for 10 years after a jury convicted him of taking millions of dollars from the group for his personal use.
Details about the Justice Department&#8217;s investigation into James&#8217; office are few so far.

NY Attorney Gen. James Holds News Conference Before Hearing On Case To Protect Citizens From Musk’s DOGE Accessing Private Data

Justice Dept Opens Investigation Into Letitia James’s Anti-Trump Crusade

Trump Administration

WASHINGTON—When President Trump&#8217;s Federal Trade Commission hosts its <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-federal-trade-commission-is-setting-its-sights-on-transgender-procedures-on-kids">Wednesday workshop</a> where experts are expected to speak out against the so-called &#8220;gender affirming care&#8221; industry, there will be one somewhat shocking participant: a lawyer in the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James, who has been a fierce defender of transgender procedures on minors.
Glenna Goldis serves as an assistant attorney general for James, one of the most liberal and anti-Trump attorneys general in the country. But the self-described &#8220;lefty lesbian lawyer&#8221; based out of New York City is also outspoken against the dangers of gender ideology pushed on children by transgender activists.
Goldis will participate in the workshop in her personal capacity, and she&#8217;s aware that her positions on gender ideology put her at odds with James.
&#8220;You can see in the public record that my employer has taken positions that are supportive of pediatric gender medicine,&#8221; Goldis said in a phone interview with The Daily Wire. &#8220;You can see in the public record that Letitia James&#8217; view is not my view.&#8221;
James has not only spoken in support of what she calls &#8220;gender-affirming care,&#8221; but she&#8217;s taken legal action against Trump&#8217;s efforts to protect children from transgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers. James called the policies &#8220;cruel, discriminatory, dangerous, and not based on science or law,” pushing the falsehood that transgender surgeries, hormones, and puberty blockers are &#8220;medically necessary&#8221; as she argued that “every young person deserves access to medically necessary care without government interference.&#8221;
Goldis says she&#8217;s &#8220;motivated by the fact that I&#8217;ve seen so many other people silenced, especially people who are similar to me,&#8221; she explained. She says, in many ways, &#8220;we are the people who are most silenced in America right now on this issue.&#8221;
&#8220;I want to end that, I want to break the taboo,&#8221; Goldis added. &#8220;There&#8217;s a taboo out there which is just performing so much work for the gender doctors. The healthcare industry is able to make all this money and pass off all these lies because there&#8217;s a taboo against criticizing it. And so I want to smash that taboo.&#8221;
The FTC workshop appears to be the first step towards major action against the industry, which is being investigated for &#8220;unfair and deceptive&#8221; practices. The FTC often holds such events before initiating legal action against an industry to gather information and solicit the input of affected Americans, bolstering the case against its target. A memo reported on by The Daily Wire in May indicates that the FTC looks to build off the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on radical gender ideology.
And Goldis&#8217; presence at the event signals something significant as well: that the movement against gender ideology is not merely conservatives, as left-wing activists suggest, but a cohort of politically diverse individuals united to fight back against something much bigger than political party.
That coalition includes Goldis, but it also includes detransitioners like Chole Cole and Prisha Mosley, women who attempted to transition to become men as teenagers, medical whistleblowers Jamie Reed, Eithan Haim, and Vanessa Sivadge, conservative experts and leaders like Jay Richards of the Heritage Foundation and Terry Schilling of the American Principles Project, and more.
For her part, Goldis is tired of leftists suggesting that men and women who identify as gay are in complete agreement with the transgender agenda.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s especially important for gay people to speak out,&#8221; she told The Daily Wire. &#8220;One of the big tools that trans advocates have used since the 1990s to normalize what they&#8217;re doing and to build public support is to pretend that they have something in common with gay people. And if gay people ever speak out and say, &#8216;Well, I don&#8217;t think that&#8217;s quite true,&#8217; then they get clobbered. This has been true, like I said, for decades.&#8221; 
The general public can be forgiven for &#8220;thinking that there is a connection there,&#8221; Goldis said, since activists are constantly promoting the LGBTQ moniker — &#8220;It really gets in your head, even though it&#8217;s not a particularly catchy collection of letters, but at this point in history you do recognize it.&#8221; 
She suggested that wealthy nonprofits and global lawfirms promoting transgenderism like the ACLU and Lambda Legal hire gay or lesbian spokespeople in an effort to build on this theme.
&#8220;They give awards to gay people who join their cause,&#8221; she said. &#8220;They give jobs to them. So, with all of that happening and with all that money and all the carrots and the sticks that are out there for gay people. I think it&#8217;s important to stand up to all of that.&#8221; 
&#8220;I just think our voice has to be heard, even though we don&#8217;t have a megaphone, naturally, we don&#8217;t have money, we don&#8217;t have the healthcare industry or big law coming to amplify our message of gender nonconformity being natural and something that should not be medicalized, especially in minors. We don&#8217;t have any of that.&#8221;
She pointed to her friends in the movement, like whistleblower Jamie Reid and Lauren Leggieri of the <a href="https://www.lgbcouragecoalition.org/">LGB Courage Coalition,</a> which describes itself as &#8220;a lesbian and gay advocacy group committed to promoting evidence-based medical care, ending the medicalization of gender nonconformity, safeguarding homosexual rights, and building a pathway back for LGB individuals who have undergone medicalization.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;re all just going out there in our personal capacities and using our voices to stand up to the health care industry,&#8221; Goldis said.

New York Attorney General Letitia James

Attorney In Letitia James’s Office Breaks From Dems to Speak Out Against ‘Gender-Affirming Care’

Transgender

The FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office in Albany, New York, have reportedly begun a formal criminal investigation into the real estate and mortgage transactions of New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James.
Last month, William J. Pulte, director of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi alleging that James might have “falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms.” He said James had “potentially included … falsifying residence status for a Norfolk, Virginia-based home in order to secure a lower mortgage rate and … misrepresenting property descriptions to meet stringent requirements for government backed loans and government assistance.” He pointed out, “Primary residence mortgages receive more favorable loan terms, including lower interest rates, than secondary residence mortgages.”
Two weeks ago, James’ attorney, Abbe Lowell, wrote a <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25913822-nyag-james-letter-to-ag-bondi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Bondi, stating, “I write to address the latest act of improper political retribution—this time directed at Ms. James—publicly instigated and endorsed by President Trump&#8230;. This so-called ‘Criminal Referral,’ which recycles long-disproven allegations and is ‘[b]ased on media reports’ lacks any credible foundation.”
“Mr. Trump has singled out Attorney General James dating back to her campaign in 2018, and ever more so during and after the trial and verdict in New York in which Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization were found liable for financial fraud and assessed a $454 million judgment,” Lowell claimed.
Lowell referred to what he called “baseless allegations,” saying:
<blockquote>
Director Pulte cherry-picked an August 17, 2023 power of attorney that mistakenly stated the property to be Ms. James’ principal residence and at the same time absolutely ignored her very clear and all caps statement two weeks earlier to the mortgage loan broker that “[t]his property WILL NOT be my primary residence[.] It will be Shamice’s primary residence.”  
</blockquote>
In 1983, James, then a recent college graduate, bought a Queens residence with her father, with some documents listing her as his “wife.’
“He asked his daughter (then a few years out of school) to help by allowing him to add her name to the mortgage application,” Lowell argued. “Mr. James filled out the mortgage material (wherein he described their relationship as being ‘spouses’) and purchased the home without his daughter’s involvement.”
“However, James, then 24 and a college graduate, signed the notarized mortgage, along with her father, on one of the document’s three pages that listed her as his ‘wife,’” the Times-Union <a href="https://www.timesunion.com/capitol/article/fbi-opens-formal-investigation-ny-attorney-20316868.php" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>. “One of those references to her being her father’s ‘wife’ was just below her signature. Lending experts consulted by the Times Union said that by listing themselves as husband and wife, the pair may have qualified for a loan — or received better borrowing terms — than had they not been considered a couple due to income requirements.”
James led a prosecutorial effort to investigate Trump’s business dealings, which ended with a judge ordering him, his two sons, and a Trump company official to pay more than $360 million.

FBI Officially Launches Probe Into New York’s Letitia James

Fraud

Investigation

Real estate

A federal housing agency referred leftist New York Attorney General Letitia James to the Justice Department for criminal prosecution over alleged actions to obtain more favorable loans on multiple properties she owned.
Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte said in a letter to the DOJ on Monday that there was evidence that James falsified records over properties she owned in Virginia and Brooklyn, New York, to secure a lower mortgage rate for government-backed loans. Pulte said that James, who aggressively prosecuted Donald Trump during his last presidential campaign, should be investigated for wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud, and making false statements to a financial institution.
&#8220;Based on media reports, Ms. Letitia James has, in multiple instances, falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms,&#8221; Pulte wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi. &#8220;This has potentially included 1) falsifying residence status for a Norfolk, Virginia-based home in order to secure a lower mortgage rate and 2) misrepresenting property descriptions to meet stringent requirements for government backed loans and government assistance.&#8221;
In August 2023, James reportedly listed her primary residence as the Norfolk property on federal mortgage documents even though she was &#8220;primarily residing in the state of New York&#8221; at the time and &#8220;required by law to have her primary residence in the state of New York&#8221; because of her statewide position, according to Pulte. 
&#8220;Primary residence mortgages receive more favorable loan terms, including lower interest rates, than secondary residence mortgages. Lenders view secondary residence mortgages as significantly riskier, as a borrower is more likely to continue paying off a primary residence mortgage during any financial hardship,&#8221; Pulte wrote. 
In the second example, Pulte said that James has listed a Brooklyn property she has owned since 2001 as having only four units, even though it has five.
&#8220;A building that exceeds four units must be treated as a multifamily property, and typically has larger down payment requirements and higher interest rates terms—with interest rates being between 0.75-1 percent higher—due to lenders viewing multifamily loans as significantly riskier,&#8221; he wrote. 
Pulte noted that he attached other documentation from 1983 that he said showed James and her father had signed a mortgage document as husband and wife, which he said &#8220;raised concerns about the validity&#8221; of her mortgage applications.
In response to the allegations, James accused the Trump administration of weaponizing the government.
“Attorney General James is focused every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this Administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law and the Constitution. She will not be intimidated by bullies — no matter who they are,” she <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/15/us-news/trump-administration-refers-ny-ag-tish-james-for-prosecution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
James <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/04/16/us-news/letitia-james-dodges-questions-about-mortgage-fraud-scandal-outside-nyc-home-pretends-to-be-on-the-phone/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dodged</a> reporters on Wednesday morning as she left her house and held a phone up to her ear, the New York Post reported. She didn&#8217;t take any questions.
Last year, James <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-appeals-454-million-civil-fraud-judgment" target="_blank" rel="noopener">secured</a> a $454 million civil fraud judgment against Trump and got him banned from doing business in New York for three years for claims that he made misleading financial statements on property evaluations to banks to secure better terms on loans. During the trial, Trump&#8217;s defense stood by the evaluations and said that all the loans were repaid.
Republicans praised the Trump administration&#8217;s criminal prosecution referral, pointing to James&#8217; statements during her prosecution of Trump that &#8220;no one is above the law.&#8221;
&#8220;Letitia James engaged in some of the most shameful, partisan lawfare against President Trump—based on far less evidence than this,&#8221; Senator Tom Cotton posted on X. &#8220;No one is above the law.&#8221;

New York Attorney General Letitia James Makes Major Announcement

PAYBACK: Trump Admin Targets New York AG Letitia James Over Housing Fraud

Scandals

A federal judge on Friday ruled that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) may access sensitive systems in the Department of Treasury after a weeks-long battle.
U.S. District Court Judge Jeannette Vargas said that one member of the DOGE team may access sensitive payment and data systems at Treasury as long as that member undergoes training. The member, Ryan Wunderly, would also need to submit a financial disclosure.
Vargas’ Friday <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.636609/gov.uscourts.nysd.636609.139.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruling</a> came nearly two months after she blocked DOGE from the systems amid a legal challenge from blue state attorneys general.
“The Court hereby modifies the PI Order to permit Defendants to grant Ryan Wunderly access to Treasury Department payment records, payment systems, and any other data systems maintained by the Treasury Department containing personally identifiable information and/or confidential financial information of payees, PROVIDED THAT (i) Wunderly first completes any hands-on training in such systems that is typically required of other Treasury employees granted commensurate access; and (ii) that Wunderly first submits his OGE 278 Financial Disclosure Report,” Vargas wrote.
In February, New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 18 other Democratic attorneys general in a lawsuit challenging DOGE’s access across the federal government. DOGE is spearheading President Donald Trump’s push to cut waste, fraud, and abuse from the government and better direct federal funds toward his agenda.
“Giving the world’s richest man unauthorized access to our nation’s central payment system, and our most sensitive personal information, puts all Americans – and the essential funds they depend on – at risk,” James <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2025/attorney-general-james-stops-elon-musk-and-doge-accessing-americans-private">said</a> in February. “With this illegal power grab, Musk and DOGE are trying to wipe out vital programs and services – from health care to public safety to education – that our communities need.”
James’ lawsuit argued that only trained career civil servants should have access to the Treasury systems, closely guarded because of the amount of sensitive and personal information of Americans stored in them.
The Trump administration had argued at the time that only two DOGE team members had been granted access to the Treasury systems, and that they had each received some training.
The ruling comes as DOGE continues its reviews of payments and systems across the federal government. DOGE <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doge-review-finds-three-dem-states-account-for-most-unemployment-fraud-since-2020">announced</a> on Thursday that an initial review of unemployment claims found $382 million in suspect payments. Nearly 80% of those payments came from three deep-blue states: California, New York, and Massachusetts.
“California, New York, and Massachusetts accounted for most of these improper claims, totaling $305M in unemployment benefits,” said DOGE. “Additionally, California accounted for 68% of the unemployment benefits paid to parolees identified by CBP on the terrorist watchlist or with criminal records.”

Judge Greenlights DOGE Access To Treasury Despite Complaints From Blue State AGs

Department of the Treasury

DOGE

New York Democratic Attorney General <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/letitia-james" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Letitia James</a> warned hospitals in the state against canceling appointments for transgender procedures on minors after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect children from irreversible surgeries and hormone therapy.
In a <a href="https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/letters/ag-james-to-hc-providers-re-tro-letter-2025.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> sent to New York health care providers on Monday, James said that hospitals have &#8220;obligations to comply with New York state laws,&#8221; adding that refusing service to &#8220;transgender individuals&#8221; goes against anti-discrimination laws.
“Electing to refuse services to a class of individuals based on their protected status, such as withholding the availability of services from transgender individuals based on their gender identity or their diagnosis of gender dysphoria, while offering such services to cisgender individuals, is discrimination under New York law,” the letter stated.
Hospitals across the U.S. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/hospitals-across-u-s-stop-transitioning-children-after-trump-signs-order-protecting-kids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began canceling appointments</a> for life-altering gender procedures on children after Trump signed an order on &#8220;Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,&#8221; Daily Wire White House Correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan reported on Monday.
“It’s already having its intended effect — preventing children from being maimed and sterilized by adults perpetuating a radical, false claim that they can somehow change a child’s sex,” the White House said. “Hospitals around the country are taking action to downsize or eliminate their so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ programs.”
Trump&#8217;s order threatens to withhold federal funding from any hospital that continues to conduct gender procedures on children. According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/nyregion/ny-attorney-general-transgender-care.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>, NYU Langone, one of the top hospitals in NYC, canceled appointments for transgender procedures on minors within days of Trump&#8217;s order. Reports of the cancellations led to a protest — attended by hundreds of people — outside of NYU Langone on Monday evening. Some of the protesters waved transgender pride flags and carried signs that called on the hospital to continue the irreversible procedures on children.
“This is the last thing that we need to be worried about, a political system attacking our family,” said one father at the demonstration. The man told the Times that his 12-year-old child identifies as &#8220;gender-fluid,&#8221; and they were seeking doctors&#8217; opinions on whether to have the child undergo hormone therapy.
Dozens of states have taken action to protect children from gender procedures, and more federal action could be on the horizon with a Republican-controlled House and Senate. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told The Daily Wire last week that the president would also support Congressional action to shield gender-confused minors from transgender surgeries, puberty blockers, and hormone therapy.
&#8220;As for congressional legislation to support the president’s agenda in this space, and certainly ending the mutilation of young children, the chemical castration of young children, which is a barbaric practice that the vast majority of Americans do not support, for young, minor children, certainly, the president would support Congress’ efforts, as he has already made that very clear this week,&#8221; Leavitt said.

New York AG Tells Hospitals To Defy Trump Order, Continue Trans Procedures On Minors

Children

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