A grand jury on Thursday declined to return a new indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James, less than two weeks after the original criminal case was dismissed.
James had previously been indicted on one count of bank fraud and another for making false statements to a financial institution. The initial case was presented by Lindsey Halligan, the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. That indictment was voided on Nov. 24 after a judge ruled Halligan’s appointment unlawful.
The Justice Department dropped plans to appeal the ruling and instead pursued a new, untainted indictment, which different prosecutors brought before a grand jury in Norfolk, Virginia.
The failure to indict on Thursday does not prevent prosecutors from trying again. A source familiar with the matter warned there “should be no premature celebrations.”
