How Trump gave rival 'a lot to work with' in DOJ case against her: financial attorney

Legal experts question whether New York Attorney General Letitia James’s indictment is tainted by undue political influence, pointing out that President Donald Trump repeatedly demanded her prosecution, pressured Justice Department officials and replaced prosecutors who hesitated to charge her.

Senior financial services attorney Benjamin Klubes told Politico in an interview published Wednesday that the defense in the James case may have “a lot to work with,” especially via a “vindictive prosecution” argument tied to James’s history of confronting Trump.

Klubes, a former HUD acting general counsel, said the defense would likely focus on how James’s prior legal actions against Trump may have made her a target. He predicted James’s team would “meticulously document all the assertions of retribution and evening the score,” arguing the case was brought not on merit but as retaliation.

The Virginia federal grand jury indicted James on one count of bank fraud and one count of false statements to a financial institution. Prosecutors allege she misrepresented a 2020 Virginia property as a secondary residence to obtain more favorable loan terms, while using it later as a rental.

Yet press reporting suggests that her grandniece, not James, occupied the property, and that she testified in a prior grand jury that she did not pay rent.

To secure a conviction, the government must show that James knowingly made false statements with intent to defraud, and that the property was not legitimately used as claimed. Klubes said proving intent will depend on documents, witness testimony, underwriting communications, tax returns and evidence of where she actually resided.

The defense is likely to challenge gaps or ambiguities in that chain.

Klubes also noted the high bar for selective or vindictive prosecution claims, but said this case has “indicia” of that route: Trump’s repeated public calls to prosecute James, his prior denunciations of her and the timing of the U.S. Attorney replacement in Virginia.

He suggested the defense will press for discovery into the case referral and internal decision‐making.

"Given the office it came from, the process by which it came to an indictment, the obvious indicia of selective or vindictive prosecution, there very well may be a lot for the defense to work with in defending this case," he said.

James aggressively pursued a civil fraud case against Trump, culminating in a multibillion‑dollar judgment (later reduced on appeal).

Legal observers see her indictment as part of a shift from civil to criminal retaliation. The new prosecution came after the FBI formalized an investigation following a referral by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.