UPDATED: Tish James’ Prosecutors Should Quit While They are Behind

Trump’s vindictive prosecution blows up in his face again

The Justice Department might just consider that it is time to walk away from not only the vindictive and utterly spurious “mortgage fraud” case against Donald Trump’s nemesis, New York Attorney General Letitia James, but from the entire panoply of claims and investigations cooked up by Trump attack dog, Federal Housing Finance Authority Director Bill Pulte.

Pulte has now come under scrutiny. In response to a letter from congressional Democrats, the Government Accountability Office announced last week that it would open an investigation as to whether Pulte and other FHFA employees “misused federal authority and resources” in targeting Trump’s Democratic enemies. CNBC reports:

The letter asked GAO for “an overview” on how FHFA conducts mortgage fraud investigations, of the existing rules governing disclosure of personal financial records and information by the agency, and a review of what changes, “if any,” that Pulte has made to the process for investigating mortgage fraud.

A GAO spokesman told CNBC on Thursday, “I can confirm that GAO has accepted this request following our standard process.”

This investigation echoes a lawsuit filed by Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Cal.) (who recently declared his run for California governor) against Pulte, the FHFA, and other defendants, alleging “Pulte has abused his position by scouring databases at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—two government-sponsored enterprises—for the private mortgage records of several prominent Democrats.” The complaint continues: “[Pulte] then used those records to concoct fanciful allegations of mortgage fraud, which he referred to the Department of Justice for prosecution.”

However, the prosecutors have still more problems. In November, news reports revealed that a federal grand jury in Maryland was investigating both Pulte and Trump’s vicious partisan inquisitor Ed Martin (whose nomination for U.S. attorney in D.C. crashed and burned). The allegation concerns whether the two “shared sensitive grand jury information with unauthorized people,” thereby tainting the investigations of both James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Cal.), who as congressman managed the first impeachment trial against Trump.

MS NOW’s investigative journalists Carol Leonnig and Ken Dilanian reported:

Improperly sharing sensitive grand jury information is a serious breach of Justice Department rules. Investigators who are found to have done so can face criminal charges including obstruction of justice, contempt of court and also stiff fines.

FBI agents have asked witnesses to turn over records and have interviewed them about people who may have presented themselves as federal investigators working on behalf of Pulte or Martin, according to the sources and documents reviewed by MS NOW.

It’s an extraordinary turnabout for the Department of Justice to be investigating two of Trump’s staunchest allies, who together have pressured career prosecutors to bring mortgage fraud charges against Schiff, James and others when those prosecutors have broadly concluded the facts do not support seeking indictments of those individuals.

According to the report, none other than Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is heading the probe.

It beggars belief to think that the very same Department of Justice would refile against James and file new charges against Schiff, Swalwell, and others when placing the regime’s own alleged misdeeds front and center. Doing so is potentially grounds for dismissal for prosecutorial abuse.

The assorted charges of impropriety against Pulte only add to the government’s woes in pursuing its vindictive prosecution against James. Recall that James’ indictment was just thrown out because of the illegal appointment of former insurance lawyer and Trump lackey Lindsey Halligan to take over the U.S. attorney job in the Eastern District of Virginia after Trump’s own appointed U.S. attorney Eric Siebert refuse to indict her.

Since the dismissal, one grand jury has refused to return a true bill to reindict her. If the prosecution is struggling to establish probable cause to indict—a much lower standard than “beyond a reasonable doubt” required for conviction—it seems impossible to image she would ever be convicted. And should DOJ scrounge up another grand jury to indict, it would face a highly compelling motion to dismiss for vindictive prosecution, which was adeptly argued before the dismissal and seemed to get a favorable response from the judge.

And just this week, more compelling evidence surfaced that could lead to dismissal on related grounds of selective prosecution. ProPublica reports that while Trump’s lackeys have been persecuting his enemies for “mortgage fraud for claiming more than one primary residence,” records show Trump did precisely the same thing in 1993. ProPublica also found that “Trump signed a mortgage for a ‘Bermuda style’ home in Palm Beach, Florida, pledging that it would be his principal residence. Just seven weeks later, he got another mortgage for a seven-bedroom, marble-floored neighboring property, attesting that it too would be his principal residence.” He never lived in either. Oops.

Mortgage experts with whom ProPublica consulted concluded that “claiming primary residences on different mortgages at the same time, as Trump did, is often legal and rarely prosecuted,” but Trump’s two loans “exceed the low bar the Trump administration itself has set for mortgage fraud.” That is the very definition of selective prosecution (as opposed to vindictive prosecution): going after an alleged crime that is virtually never prosecuted and—in the case of the chief executive’s own properties—never raised an eyebrow.

Now, if prosecutors find a jury to indict James, then serve motions to dismiss for vindictive and selective prosecution, and for prosecutorial misconduct, they would still be left with what appears to be an unwinnable case. As ABC News revealed, the declination memo sent to Siebert recommending against prosecution outlined the legal flaw at the heart of the case: “federal mortgage guidelines for a second home do not clearly define occupancy, a key element of the case.” It also revealed the facts that support James’ claim that it was never an investment property. “Witnesses told prosecutors that James repeatedly informed realtors and loan officers that the home would be for her niece, but that she would occasionally stay there when visiting her family in Virginia.”

Frankly, it is hard to see why the Trump team would not quietly fold up its tent and slink away. With each new revelation, we learn that this case is rife with flaws and infirmities. James is not the one with legal problems. And since the other “mortgage fraud” cases appear to be as hobbled as the case against James, it is hard to imagine even these clownish prosecutors will ever file cases.

UPDATE: On Thursday, a grand jury again refused to indict James. Her attorney, Abbe Lowell, in a statement denounced the ongoing legal farce. “For the second time in seven days, the Department of Justice has failed in its clear attempt to fulfill President Trump’s political vendetta against Attorney General James,” Lowell said. “This unprecedented rejection makes even clearer that this case should never have seen the light of day. Career prosecutors who knew better refused to bring it, and now two different grand juries in two different cities have refused to allow these baseless charges to be brought.” He reminded us that the first indictment had been thrown out on grounds Halligan was illegally appointed for the purpose of carrying out Trump’s “revenge.” He continued: “This case already has been a stain on this Department’s reputation and raises troubling questions about its integrity.” As Lowell concluded, persisting in this case “would be a mockery of our system of justice.” It truly is time to throw in the towel.