The Justice Department’s Weaponization Working Group has called on New York Attorney General Letitia James to resign amid a federal investigation into potential mortgage fraud.
In a letter sent August 12, special prosecutor Ed Martin, who leads the group, urged James to step down, saying her resignation would be viewed as “an act of good faith.” He added that doing so would serve “the good of the state and nation” and would bring an end to the probe into her conduct.
“Her resignation from office would give the people of New York and America more peace than proceeding,” Martin wrote in the letter. “I would take this as an act of good faith.”
The investigation focuses on alleged discrepancies involving James’s Brooklyn townhouse and a property she owns in Virginia, according to Yahoo! News.
James has been a prominent figure in high-profile legal battles with former President Donald Trump. In 2024, her office successfully prosecuted Trump in a civil fraud case tied to his business empire, accusing him of inflating property values to secure favorable loans and insurance terms in what was a highly controversial case.
Trump and his allies repeatedly characterized that case as politically motivated, a claim James has rejected even though she campaigned for her office on a platform to ‘get Trump.’
The parallels between her past prosecution of Trump and the current allegations against her — which also involve questions about mortgage filings — have added to the political fallout surrounding the probe.
Neither James nor her office has commented publicly on Martin’s letter. The Justice Department has not announced whether it plans to take further action beyond the ongoing investigation.
Last week, Martin appeared outside James’s Brooklyn townhouse, accompanied by an aide and a journalist from the New York Post. Martin, dressed in a trench coat, did not attempt to enter the property and did not engage directly with James.
The writer from the Post saw him engage in a conversation with a neighbor, saying, “I’m just looking at houses, interesting houses. It’s an important house.”
“James’ lawyer Abbe Lowell shot back on Monday, telling Martin in a letter his blunt request for James’ resignation defied Justice Department standards and codes of professional responsibility and legal ethics,” Yahoo reported.
The DOJ “has firm policies against using investigations and against using prosecutorial power for achieving political ends,” Lowell wrote. “This is ever more the case when that demand is made to seek political revenge against a public official in the opposite party.”
“Let me be clear: that will not happen here,” he stated firmly, regarding Martin’s offer to allow James to resign.
Grand juries in Virginia and Maryland are currently weighing criminal indictments for James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) over allegations that both falsified property records to secure favorable loan terms.
James’ Brooklyn property at 296 Lafayette Avenue is listed as a five-unit dwelling, but investigators allege she misrepresented the building as a four-unit property on mortgage applications, building permits, and filings for government aid.
The alleged misclassification would have allowed James to qualify for loans with lower down payments and better interest rates through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which limit financing programs to properties with four or fewer units.
When Martin visited, the property had one doorbell at the main entrance and four additional doorbells at a side entrance labeled “1 Floor,” “2 Floor,” “3A,” and “3B.”
The probe into James’ real estate began in April when Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte referred the case to the DOJ.
Pulte alleged James falsified mortgage records by claiming a Norfolk, Virginia, property she bought in 2023 would serve as her “principal residence” while she was serving as New York’s attorney general, and that her Brooklyn home was a second residence.
