By Hank Russell
There are reports that the U.S. Department of Justice has subpoenaed Attorney General Letitia James as part of a grand jury criminal investigation.
According to Newsmax, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is investigating James and the state of New York after they sued the National Rifle Association (NRA) to have the organization dissolved. The purpose of the investigation is to determine the lawsuit violated the NRA’s First and Second Amendment rights.
In 2020, James filed a lawsuit against the gun rights group over allegations of abuse and fraud. According to ABC News, James alleged then-CEO Kevin LaPierre and his senior managers spent NRA’s funds on personal use, such as private jets, family vacations.
In February 2024, a jury found in favor of James. LaPierre, who resigned from the organization before the trial began, was ordered to pay $4.5 million and an additional $2 million in damages. The NRA appealed the decision.
In a statement to Newsmax, NRA Executive Vice President/CEO Doug Hamlin said, “We were gratified to learn of the investigation into AG Letitia James because she also abuses her authority against the NRA. She maligns us because we advocate for our constitutional freedoms, calling us a ‘terrorist organization.’ She uses her powers as an elected official to try, in her words, to ‘dissolve the organization in its entirety,’ thus silencing the voice of millions of our members. That she now expresses concerns over ‘weaponization’ is the height of hypocrisy — an utter lack of self-awareness at the very least.”
In addition, according to PBS, the federal government is looking into James’ lawsuit against President Donald Trump in which she alleged there were improprieties in his business dealings. Trump decried the lawsuits and called these investigations political retribution.
This is not the first time that James has been investigated by the federal government. As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, the Federal Housing Finance Agency sent a letter to Bondi calling for an investigation. James allegedly documented that a home in Virginia was to be her “principal residence,” although she is a government leader in the State of New York. Pulte also claims that James allegedly “falsified records” to secure a home loan for the Virginia residence.
LILP reached out to the attorney general’s office. “Any weaponization of the justice system should disturb every American,” said a spokesperson for James. “We stand strongly behind our successful litigation against the Trump Organization and the National Rifle Association, and we will continue to stand up for New Yorkers’ rights.”
LILP also reached out to the Justice Department. They had no comment.