NY AG Letitia James and President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
James entered the not guilty plea herself to U.S. District Judge Jamar K. Walker.
She is being represented in the case by defense attorney Abbe Lowell, and by Andrew Bosse, a former assistant U.S. attorney based in Norfolk who formerly headed up the office's criminal division.
James’ arraignment is the latest in a string of prosecutions brought against the president’s perceived political foes, despite objections from career prosecutors — some of whom have since been fired or resigned.
James, a Democrat, has long-drawn Trump's ire after she campaigned for attorney general in 2016 largely on vows to investigate Trump's actions and businesses.
She also successfully secured a $450 million civil fraud case against him last year, though an appeals court later tossed the financial penalty portion of the case.
"This is nothing more than a continuation of the president's desperate weaponization of our justice system," James said in a statement after she was indicted.
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"These charges are baseless, and the president's own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost," she added.
Her indictment, like the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, was presented to a grand jury by former White House aide Lindsey Halligan, whom President Donald Trump installed as the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last month.
Trump, in September, said he would install Halligan as the top prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, replacing interim attorney Erik Siebert, who resigned under pressure to indict both Comey and James.
"No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public's trust," Halligan said in a statement. "The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served."
After the arraignment, it is likely that she will file a motion to dismiss her case for vindictive and selective prosecution, following similar steps taken by Comey's legal team in Alexandria earlier this week.
She will also file a motion to dismiss her case based on what her lawyers will argue was the unlawful appointment of Halligan in securing her indictment.
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Lowell, her attorney, has described the case against her as "improper political retribution," and vowed they would "fight these charges in every process allowed in the law."
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Fox News's request for comment on the case, or whether Halligan or Keller would be joined by any other federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Breanne Deppisch is a national politics reporter for Fox News Digital covering the Trump administration, with a focus on the Justice Department, FBI and other national news. She previously covered national politics at the Washington Examiner and The Washington Post, with additional bylines in Politico Magazine, the Colorado Gazette and others. You can send tips to Breanne at Breanne.Deppisch@fox.com, or follow her on X at @breanne_dep.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/new-york-attorney-general-letitia-james-enters-plea-federal-mortgage-fraud-case