BREAKING: The Trump DOJ has officially launched a grand jury investigation into Letitia James.
“The investigation is being run out of Albany and focused on possible deprivation of rights allegations.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James is now the subject of a federal criminal investigation related to her actions targeting President Donald Trump and another matter initiated under the direction of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Breitbart News has learned.
According to two sources familiar with the investigation, subpoenas have been issued focusing on allegations that James may have violated civil rights laws—specifically, a potential “deprivation of rights” charge—through her pursuit of Trump and another undisclosed case. The sources confirmed that a grand jury has been empaneled and that the investigation is active and ongoing.
While the specific U.S. Attorney’s Office overseeing the case has not been confirmed, the sources noted that because the alleged actions under scrutiny were conducted from James’s office in Albany, the investigation is likely being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York, Breitbart added.
Although the sources briefed on the matter did not provide more details, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division website clearly outlines statutes regarding “deprivation of rights.”
“Section 242 of Title 18 makes it a crime for a person acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States,” the Justice Department website states. The DOJ website states that, depending on the severity of the offense, a conviction for this federal crime could result in a sentence of life in prison—or, in extreme cases, the death penalty.
“Persons acting under color of law within the meaning of this statute include police officers, prisons guards and other law enforcement officials, as well as judges, care providers in public health facilities, and others who are acting as public officials. It is not necessary that the crime be motivated by animus toward the race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin of the victim,” says the DOJ website, per Breitbart.
It remains unclear whether that specific statute is the basis for the investigation into Letitia James. However, sources familiar with the matter confirmed that the probe centers on a “deprivation of rights” case involving both her actions against Trump and another separate incident. Given that subpoenas have been issued, it is likely that a specific federal statute has been cited, as is standard practice in such cases.
