It’s just the continuation of his hatred toward Black women and Black people,” former Obama White House aide Michael Blake

New York Attorney General Letitia “Tish” James has made history in politics. Find out what’s known about her family and whether she has children.

The DOJ is going after Trump foe Letitia James with an allegation of mortgage fraud, a crime seldom prosecuted.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has been charged with bank fraud and making a false statement, allegedly using a property as an investment rather than a secondary residence. This indictment follows similar charges against James Comey,

WASHINGTON — A federal prosecutor in Virginia whose monthslong mortgage fraud investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James has not resulted in criminal charges resigned Friday under pressure from the Trump administration. Erik Siebert ...

All-Star' panelists break down the Israel-Hamas peace deal, whether President Donald Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize and the indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James on 'Special Report.

PROGRAMMING NOTE: New York Playbook is off Monday for the holiday. We’ll be back in your inboxes Tuesday. ‘DESPERATE WEAPONIZATION': The federal indictment of Attorney General Letitia James has felt inevitable. “Tish James knew the risk that she was taking when she brought that prosecution” against Donald Trump, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said at a press conference Thursday night. “When she says ‘without fear or favor,’ you know she means it,” he added. “This should alarm and outrage every New Yorker and every American,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said. “Donald Trump has been very, very blatant about his goals, trying to weaponize the federal government.” New York Democrats rallied swiftly to James’ side and blasted Trump for political vengeance after his Justice Department indicted her as part of a mortgage fraud investigation, POLITICO reports. James’ allies are alleging retribution by a president whose company she successfully sued in New York for civil business fraud, citing a pattern of Trump prosecuting his adversaries. It was “tyranny” to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “The antithesis of our America” to City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. “Fascist tactics” to New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani. “Once justice becomes partisan, everyone loses,” mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo said in an X post. Though by declining to name James, or Trump, the former governor’s lasting animosity towards the attorney general he blames for forcing his resignation over sexual harassment allegations — which Cuomo has repeatedly denied — was implied. The charges brought in the Eastern District of Virginia allege that when James bought a Norfolk, Virginia house in 2020, she misrepresented it as a second home, rather than a rental property, which allowed her to obtain a slightly lower rate on her federally backed mortgage loan — netting her $18,933 in “ill-gotten gains.” (That’s 0.005 percent of the $355 million verdict James won against Trump in his civil fraud case, though the penalty was overturned on appeal as excessive last month.) James called the indictment “nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.” It comes after Trump fired a U.S. attorney who refused to bring charges against James, publicly appealed to Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute her, and then tapped a new prosecutor — his former personal attorney, Lindsey Halligan — who brought the charges Thursday. But that’s just the recent history. The saga dates back to James making her investigation of the Republican president — then in his first term — a centerpiece of her 2018 attorney general campaign, POLITICO reports. So to Republicans like Rep. Elise Stefanik, this is all a delicious reversal on James. FLOWERS FOR THE FIGHTERS: Lefties are liking the fire they see in Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries as the government shutdown enters Day 10. They’ve gone from lambasting Schumer in March for voting with Republicans to fund the government to cheering him now so long as he stands his ground against the GOP to protect health care. “I think Schumer went into this fight feeling the heat on his back and has developed a clearer strategy on ways to leverage this moment, to resist, … which is what we wanted this whole time,” New York Working Families Party Co-Director Jasmine Gripper told Playbook. Progressive group Indivisible called for the Senate minority leader to resign his post in March, but cofounder Ezra Levin told POLITICO, “He hasn’t surrendered yet. I call that progress, and we’re cheering him on now.” Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other Republicans have pilloried Democratic leaders for bowing to the party’s progressive wing — some referencing Democratic mayoral nominee Mamdani in their attacks. And while Schumer has insisted that it’s about the American people, not his Democratic base, it’s true that his one-time critics — including those with new-media influence — are pleased with what they’re seeing. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is genuinely good Chuck Schumer Content,” podcast host Armand Domalewski wrote of a social media video in which the Senate minority leader says there’s “no fucking way” Democrats will let Republicans take health care away. Schumer’s video breaking down the Democrats’ shutdown case came on the same day that GOP Rep. Mike Lawler confronted Jeffries in the halls of Congress after the House minority leader’s news conference. The two exchanged angry words and personal attacks with reporters watching and cameras rolling. Lawler was lauded by Republicans and fundraised off the spat. Jeffries got his flowers, too, telling The Siren in an interview afterward of Lawler, “Don’t come for me unless I send for you. And I did not send for this malignant clown.” On Thursday, Schumer presented Republicans with a messaging gift when he told Punchbowl News of Democrats’ shutdown strategy, “Every day gets better for us.” “He says every day gets better for us,” Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told reporters. “He’s not talking about the American people.” Still, progressives and young voters are lauding Democratic leaders’ more aggressive approach. “Democrats are starting to recognize more and more that these times are unprecedented and that we can no longer use just old strategies … and follow these outdated formulas,” Sunrise Movement spokesperson Denae Avila-Dickson told Playbook. — Emily Ngo See how policy professionals stay ahead. The Policy Intelligence Assistant, available only with POLITICO Pro, fuses trusted reporting with advanced AI to surface insights faster, build reports in seconds, and turn intelligence into action. Start your 30-day free trial. TRAVEL ADVISORY: New York City Mayor Eric Adams was just on a trip to Albania. A city ethics board wants to know more about how he got there. The New York City Conflicts of Interest Board is proposing tighter disclosure rules for elected officials who accept travel perks from special interest groups or foreign governments. In part, the new regulations were inspired by public concern over trips like Adams’ jaunts abroad during his time in office. In practice, however, the new rules would affect whoever emerges victorious from the November general election currently being dominated by Mamdani. Elected officials are already required to report third-party reimbursements for official travel topping $1,000. The threshold for agencies to report gifts to the board, however, has long been $5,000. The board is now proposing to lower the agency threshold to $1,000 — bringing it in line with individual disclosures — while clarifying that travel reimbursements count as gifts and requiring agency heads to approve travel in writing. Read the writeup from POLITICO’s Joe Anuta for more on the pending rule changes, their shortcomings and lots of bonus material on Adams’ travel habits. ADAMS VS. ADAMS: A key City Council committee advanced Mayor Adams’ proposed Jamaica rezoning on Thursday — setting the stage for final approval later this month, POLITICO Pro reports. The vote of the land use committee comes amid a fight between both sides of City Hall over ballot questions that would limit the Council’s role in land use matters. Council leaders are fiercely opposed to those proposals, which came out of the mayor’s Charter Revision Commission and are set to be decided by voters next month. Speaker Adrienne Adams, in a statement celebrating the Jamaica rezoning approval, said key tenets of the plan “would not have been possible without the City Council’s direct role in the land use process to negotiate and secure community needs.” The rezoning plan is expected to yield some 12,000 homes in the southeast Queens area, about 4,200 of them affordable to low- and middle-income households. — Janaki Chadha RULE BREAKER: Hochul is taking aim at regulations that make New York unaffordable, her budget chief told state department leaders Thursday, POLITICO Pro reports. The Democratic governor wants a sweeping review of agency rules, regulations and other “public facing policies” that should be altered or repealed. The push for a regulatory overhaul comes as Hochul faces a potentially challenging bid for a second full term next year and is expected to campaign extensively on cost-of-living concerns. The request was outlined in Budget Director Blake Washington’s annual “call letter” — a missive to Hochul’s cabinet leaders that marks the unofficial start to the state budget season. “On behalf of the Governor, I challenge you to offer a more efficient and consumer-friendly experience while continuing to protect affordability and public safety,” Washington wrote in the letter obtained by POLITICO. “We have an obligation to do more with less, and by showing true leadership and fiscal discipline, we can further support the Governor’s vision to meet the needs of the people we serve.” State agency leaders were instructed to include the recommendations in their budget requests by Oct. 24. Officials were advised to target regulations that are “outdated or obsolete” for review by the governor’s counsel. Hochul early next year will unveil her state budget proposal, which is due to pass by April 1. The spending plan stands to be her most challenging yet amid deep federal spending reductions and a push by left-leaning Democrats to raise taxes, which Hochul opposes. — Nick Reisman SILK STOCKING DISTRICT: City Council Member Erik Bottcher is demanding his opponents don’t underestimate him in the congressional race for the open seat held by retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler. His campaign said he raised more in the first 24 hours after opening his account than any House candidate in New York history — a whopping $683,000. Meanwhile, young nonprofit leader Liam Elkind doesn’t want to be underestimated either, even after elected officials stepped into the race that was once just him versus Nadler. His campaign said he’s raised more than $550,000 from 2,100 individuals donors in the two months since he launched.

The New York attorney general's new agreement comes in the wake of an $86 million settlement with Indivior over its alleged role in fueling the state's opioid crisis.