What to know about Letitia James

Now, an indictment is one thing, formal charges are another, and actually, conviction is a whole other thing. How likely is that going to happen with Letitia James, do you think? Right. So we do not know. I haven't seen the indictment. And I don't know the strength of the charges. She was being investigated for insurance fraud having to do with a Virginia property that she was buying for her niece, that she suggested apparently on the application or at one point that it was going to be her primary residence. Her lawyers have claimed subsequently that she quickly corrected that. And so if that's the basis for the charge of bank fraud, then that may or may not-- they may or may not have significant proof that she committed this crime. But we will see, because as you say, bringing an indictment, one only needs a very low threshold of probable cause. And in order to get a conviction, you need proof beyond a reasonable doubt, which is a very high standard and yet to be seen. There will also be motions, as there will be in the James Comey case, I'm sure, suggesting that this selective prosecution, that she's being targeted because of her political views, which is normally a huge long shot, but given the fact that there was this public post by the president, which is so unusual, it may-- along with what happened with the former US attorney, there may be a stronger case than there would normally be at least for that kind of motion practice.

So you believe, because James Comey's case is moving forward now, that the two might actually have an impact on one another, now, the case against Letitia James? Well, I don't think that they would have an impact on one another. But I do think that there will be parallel motions filed in these cases and that-- I mean, potentially, yes. Potentially, the fact that both of these were filed so quickly after Lindsey Halligan was put in place may tend to support that inference that they were being targeted because of their political views. And I think it's worth reminding our viewers, who is Lindsay Halligan? She's new to this job. Right, she is new to this job, and she is new to this practice. And I think those are both extremely important things. She's new to the job. And right after she took this position, she then brought the charges against James Comey, and then shortly after these charges. And so it does certainly look like she is doing exactly what the president wants her to do, which is in breach of the normal independence of the Department of Justice, which is so vital for our liberties and for the rule of law. So it certainly looks like that. And I think her lack of experience is also telling because those with a long institutional knowledge have a strong commitment to this notion that lawyers within the Department of Justice, prosecutors within the Department of Justice do not-- they are not the president's lawyers. They owe their obligation to the public. And as such, they have to do justice, rather than doing the president's bidding. But somebody who doesn't have that tradition, that practice, that sense of institutional knowledge and ethics of those offices may not fully understand the importance of those principles. And they are not just niceties or etiquette. Those principles are at the very bedrock of the rule of law. They are extremely important. And they are how this country upholds fairness in criminal process and the rule of law. And could you go over again the specifics of this indictment? Yeah. So I mean, as far as I know, there is one count of bank fraud. And this is, at least reportedly-- I haven't seen the indictment yet. It's all very new. But that charge is based on an allegation of insurance fraud that arises out-- or at least, that was the underlying investigation-- out of a property that she purchased in Virginia for her niece, I believe. And the investigation was into whether or not she lied about this being her primary residence. And that would have constituted a kind of insurance bank fraud that could have formed the basis for this charge. So now that this indictment has been filed, what's next? So what's next is she will be arraigned. And that is a sort of formality. And most likely, she will plead not guilty. We won't learn much more at the arraignment. But shortly after that, there will be motions, motions to dismiss, and as I said, motions suggesting this is selective or vindictive prosecution, I'm sure. And after that, there will be a lot of discovery. And during the discovery, the defense team will learn more about what the government's case is. It's the position of her lawyers, or at least, that's been their public position, that she quickly corrected this statement. And if so, that somewhat, at least, undercuts the strength of the government's case. If it turns out that that's true. And I'm curious, the president mentioned that he wants the attorney general to go after his enemies. Senator Adam Schiff could be next on this list. What charges could he be facing? Yeah, so I mean, there are a number of investigations going on. He could be facing charges. There are others who are reputedly being investigated for various different charges. And it remains to be seen whether or not this will continue to go in the direction that he demanded.

And we'll be watching. Thank you so much.