New York Attorney General Letitia James has hired Democrat defense attorney Abbe Lowell in a last-ditch effort to spin away serious fraud allegations tied to her real estate dealings.
Lowell, a partner at Winston & Strawn LLP, is known as a high-profile attorney for embattled political figures, having represented Democrats such as Hunter Biden, John Edwards, and even Bill Clinton during his impeachment trial.
According to the Times Union, he was reportedly hired by the Office of the New York State Attorney General, not personally by Letitia James, just days after Trump-appointed officials filed a formal criminal referral to the DOJ.
The referral, spearheaded by U.S. Federal Housing Director William Pulte, accuses James of participating in suspicious real estate and mortgage transactions stretching back decades.
The Gateway Pundit and the White Collar Fraud previously reported back in early March that James has been implicated in multiple instances of mortgage fraud, with the most damning claims centered on her Brooklyn and Virginia properties.
Falsifying Residency in Virginia: In 2023, James co-signed a mortgage for a Norfolk, Virginia property, allegedly misrepresenting it as her “principal residence” in a power of attorney document. (Read more: Revealed: NY Attorney General Letitia James Declares Virginia Home Her ‘Principal Residence’)
Brooklyn Property Misrepresentation: James’ Brooklyn home, purchased in 2001, is listed in a 24-year-old certificate of occupancy as a five-unit dwelling, yet she has consistently claimed it as a four-unit property for mortgage and tax purposes. (Read more: Big Development: Is Letitia James Guilty of Mortgage Fraud?)
Queens Property Fraud: A 1983 mortgage application for a Queens property, filled out by James’ late father, Robert James, falsely listed Letitia James as his spouse rather than his daughter. (Read more: Mortgage Fraud Alert: Did Letitia James Marry Her Father?)
In a six-page letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi, James’ attorney, Abbe David Lowell, scrambled to deflect the accusations.
Lowell’s response, dripping with indignation, accuses President Trump of orchestrating “political retribution” and labels Pulte’s referral as “baseless” and “hypocritical.”
The letter leans heavily on cherry-picked exhibits, such as emails and property records, to argue that any discrepancies were honest mistakes or misinterpretations.
Lowell: “Director Pulte’s letter, itself “[b]ased on media reports,” raises three issues: one reference out of an entire file of documents to a property in Virginia being Ms. James’ “principal residence”; one 24-year-old document among a pile of others defining a Brooklyn property as having five dwellings when a loan in question called for only four; and two decades-old references (one 42 years old and the other 24 years old) to documents filled out by Ms. James’ deceased father where he either checked a wrong box or misstated his relationship with Ms. James to be spousal rather than parental.”
For instance, Lowell claims James explicitly told her mortgage broker the Virginia property was not her primary residence, pointing to an August 3, 2023, email exchange.
Lowell: “Director Pulte cherry-picked an August 17, 2023 power of attorney that mistakenly stated the property to be Ms. James’ principal residence and at the same time absolutely ignored her very clear and all caps statement two weeks earlier to the mortgage loan broker that “[t]his property WILL NOT be my primary residence[.] It will be Shamice’s primary residence.” The broker understood this, and that Ms. James was not a Virginia resident, and replied, “Section 4 indicates that the property will be occupied as a primary residence for Shamice. . . . Your declaration is marked as a non-occupying co-borrower.”
On the Brooklyn issue, he cites a 2011 Home Affordable Modification Program application and NYC Department of Finance records to assert the property has always been a four-unit residence.
Lowell: Director Pulte points to a 24-year-old certificate of occupancy listing the property as having five units, despite that the property has functioned as a four-unit residence for the past 24 years since Ms. James bought it.
In fact, a document he is well aware of, the August 23, 2011 Home Affordable Modification Program application, confirms it as being a four-unit property.
Worse yet, Director Pulte ignores altogether the other New York City records that list the Brooklyn property as a four-unit property, including the NYC Department of Finance property record listing the Brooklyn property’s Building Class as “C3 – Four Families” for tax purposes (e.g., 4 residential units).
In addition, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) lists the Brooklyn property as having “4” “A Units” and “0” “B Units”— demonstrating, again, that Ms. James’ Brooklyn residence has been used as a four-unit residence since 2001.
Simply put, cherry-picking a 24-year-old certificate of occupancy and ignoring the many times the City’s records say the opposite is what happens when a so-called “criminal referral” is “[b]ased on media reports.”
As for the Queens property, Lowell insists Robert James’ error was insignificant, supported by a same-day deed correctly identifying Letitia as his daughter.
Lowell: In 1983, Ms. James’ father, Robert James sought to buy a home for his family in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New York. He asked his daughter (then a few years out of school) to help by allowing him to add her name to the mortgage application.
Mr. James filled out the mortgage material (wherein he described their relationship as being “spouses”) and purchased the home without his daughter’s involvement.
Yet, in a predictable pattern here, Director Pulte cites a mistaken May 20, 1983 document Mr. James filled out to cast his baseless allegation while again ignoringthe other supporting documentation, one on the same exact date that correctly describes Ms. James as being his daughter. The actual May 20, 1983 property deed for the Jamaica, Queens residence lists Robert James “and Letitia James, his daughter.”
Read the full letter below:
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