WASHINGTON: The New York attorney general who successfully prosecuted Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to bank fraud charges on Friday and accused the US president of using the justice system as a “tool of revenge”.
Letitia James, 67, one of three prominent Trump critics to be hit with criminal charges in recent weeks, entered the not guilty plea at an arraignment in a federal court in Norfolk, Virginia.
The presiding judge set a Dec 5 date for the next hearing in the case and a trial date of Jan 26.
James faces one count of bank fraud and a second one of making false statements to a financial institution in connection with a property she purchased in Virginia in 2020.
Speaking to handful of supporters outside court following the brief arraignment, James said the Trump administration is using the justice system as a “vehicle of retribution”.
“This is not about me,” she told the crowd holding up signs reading “Defend Democracy” and “Revenge Is Not Democracy”.
“This is about all of us,” James said. “And about a justice system which has been weaponised, a justice system which has been been used as a tool of revenge.”
Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2025
