New York Gov. Kathy Hochul accused federal prosecutors of weaponizing the Justice Department after Attorney General Letitia James was indicted by a grand jury in Virginia. 

“New Yorkers know [Letitia James] for her integrity, her independence, and her relentless fight for justice. What we’re seeing today is nothing less than the weaponization of the Justice Department to punish those who hold the powerful accountable,” Hochul, a Democrat, wrote Thursday in a post on social media. 

James was charged with one count of bank fraud and another of making a false statement to a financial institution. The indictment alleges James misrepresented how she used a home she bought in Norfolk in 2020 to get a more favorable mortgage. In May, CBS News reported DOJ was investigating James for alleged mortgage fraud. 

Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres called the indictment of James an “outrageous and egregious” abuse of power. 

“It is the latest salvo in Donald Trump’s unrelenting war against American democracy. Rather than addressing the grocery and utility bills crushing American families, Donald Trump remains pathologically preoccupied with his personal enemies list. The persecution of political rivals has become the singular obsession of his failing presidency,” a statement from the Bronx congressman said.

Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the frontrunner in the New York City mayor’s race, called James “a champion for justice who fights relentlessly for the people,” in a statement from his campaign. 

“Donald Trump knows her only as an obstacle to his corruption. No one should be surprised that Donald Trump is employing fascist tactics—prosecuting his opponents, weaponizing the federal government, and attacking the very fabric of our democracy. And Trump should not be surprised when millions of Americans stand up to his authoritarianism and his greed,” the statement from Mamdani said. “If Trump wants to leverage baseless charges to visit political retribution on New York’s Attorney General, he’ll have to go through New Yorkers first. The Attorney General has had our back, time and again. We have hers.”

Jumaane Williams, the city’s public advocate who was elected after James resigned that office to be sworn in as attorney general, said her indictment “should alarm and outrage every New Yorker, every American.” 

“Donald Trump has been blatant about his goals – to weaponize the federal government against the people brave enough to stand up to him. Now, he’s invented a reason to come after the highest-ranking Black woman in the state where he was convicted of 34 felonies and civil fraud. The Attorney General is dedicated to the people she serves and the pursuit of justice – two things that put her at odds with Donald Trump, the convicted felon authoritarian in the White House. If this abuse were uncovered about any other president, they’d be impeached and removed, but Trump’s perversion of justice is so obvious and inept that it has become normalized. We do not have to accept that, and we do not have to treat this lawfare as legitimate – Trump already told us himself that it’s not,” a statement from Williams said. 

Word of the indictment comes two weeks after former FBI Director James Comey’s indictment on charges of lying to Congress.   

Letitia James releases statement on her indictment

James has been New York’s top law enforcement official since 2019.

Following her indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Virginia, she released a video statement calling the charges “baseless.” 

Here is James’ full statement: 

This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system. He is forcing federal law enforcement agencies to do his bidding, all because I did my job as the New York State Attorney General.  

These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost. The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties.  

His decision to fire a United States Attorney who refused to bring charges against me – and replace them with someone who is blindly loyal not to the law, but to the president – is antithetical to the bedrock principles of our country. This is the time for leaders on both sides of the aisle to speak out against this blatant perversion of our system of justice. 

I stand strongly behind my office’s litigation against the Trump Organization. We conducted a two-year investigation based on the facts and evidence – not politics. Judges have upheld the trial court’s finding that Donald Trump, his company, and his two sons are liable for fraud.  

I am a proud woman of faith, and I know that faith and fear cannot share the same space. And so today I am not fearful, I am fearless, and as my faith teaches me, no weapon formed against me shall prosper. We will fight these baseless charges aggressively, and my office will continue to fiercely protect New Yorkers and their rights. And I will continue to do my job.” 

This is a developing story. Please stay with CBS News New York for updates.