In a sharp twist to the ongoing legal drama between New York Attorney General Letitia James and President Donald Trump, a recent exposé has cast serious doubt over James’ eligibility to hold her position in office — a revelation that could ripple through both the political and legal landscapes of New York.
The controversy centers around a 2023 real estate transaction in Virginia, completed just weeks before James launched her high-profile civil fraud lawsuit against Trump. Central to the emerging questions is a Specific Power of Attorney document, which includes a sworn declaration by James that she intended to occupy the Virginia property as her “principal residence.”
That single statement, buried within a real estate form, could now prove to be a political powder keg.
According to New York’s Public Officers Law, the state’s attorney general must reside in New York for five consecutive years before taking office — a requirement aimed at preserving residency-based accountability. If the declaration made in Virginia stands up to scrutiny, and if it’s found that James effectively changed her principal residence, even temporarily, it could call her entire term into question.
The revelations were first highlighted by Sam E. Antar, a forensic accountant and former fraudster turned whistleblower. Antar, once the CFO of the infamous Crazy Eddie electronics chain, noted that James’s declaration may amount to a “smoking gun” — a legal misstep in direct conflict with the responsibilities and requirements of her office.
Adding fuel to the fire, the mortgage terms on the Virginia property required both co-borrowers to establish primary residency within 60 days — a timeline that collides with James’s legal campaign against Trump in New York. If she fulfilled that requirement, it raises further questions about her physical presence and legal residence during a key moment in her career.
Moreover, James did not disclose the property purchase in her 2023 financial disclosure statement — a potential breach of New York’s ethics laws. The omission, if deliberate, could signal more than an oversight; it could point to a pattern of concealment with serious implications under both state and federal law.
Letitia James committed mortgage fraud when she falsely claimed financial hardship to get a 2.7% government HAMP refinance loan in 2011. She was making around $ 176,000 per year from NYC city council and from renting her apartments at the time ($ 14,600 per month). pic.twitter.com/p73q1kNG4e
— Joel Gilbert (@JoelSGilbert) April 6, 2025
President Trump, unsurprisingly, seized on the report in a Truth Social post Monday, calling James a “totally corrupt politician” and demanding her immediate resignation. He described her actions as part of a broader campaign to weaponize the justice system against him during the 2024 election cycle, a sentiment echoed by his allies and millions of voters skeptical of selective prosecution.
“This isn’t just a paperwork error,” said a senior GOP strategist. “If James knowingly signed a document declaring Virginia as her primary residence to get mortgage benefits, that’s misrepresentation — and that’s a problem whether you’re a state attorney general or a private citizen.”
As of now, James has not publicly addressed the allegations, and legacy media outlets have largely ignored the story — though pressure is mounting. If the report proves accurate, it could spark ethics investigations, legal challenges, and possibly trigger calls for disbarment or removal from office.
