Gothamist: New York State Attorney General Letitia James’s office is lawyering up as the Democrat grapples with a pair of federal investigations.
James hired Munger, Tolles Olson LLP, to deal with a pair of subpoenas sent by federal prosecutors in Albany, according to the state comptroller’s office. A comptroller spokesperson said no information about cost was immediately available.
The legal buildup indicates progress in Republican-backed probes targeting James as she continues to lead lawsuits against President Donald Trump’s administration.
James’ Democratic allies say Trump is weaponizing the Department of Justice against her. Republicans say Democrats, including James, unfairly targeted Trump and other conservatives.
The law firm didn’t respond to a message seeking comment. The legal team includes Martin Estrada, a former U.S. Attorney in Southern California as well as firm chair Brad Brian and Hailyn Chen, a co-managing partner of the firm, according to a person familiar with the matter. James has already hired Abbe Lowell as her personal lawyer to represent her in an inquiry about possible fraud in mortgage applications.
That investigation is unfolding separately from the Albany-based probe. The Albany investigators are seeking records regarding James’s investigations of the National Rifle Association, as well as a civil fraud case she brought against Trump.
James confirmed last month that her office was subpoenaed but declined to elaborate. She defended her work in both matters.
“All I can say is that each and every day I walk into the office of the attorney general, I do my job,” she said Aug. 25. “The argument that … this was political retribution on my part was rejected by the court.”
A spokesperson for acting U.S. Attorney John Sarcone, the top federal prosecutor in Albany, declined to comment. Sarcone had never worked as a prosecutor before he was sworn in this year. He unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination to run against James in 2022.
Republicans have long accused James of targeting them. Her case against the NRA centered on improper spending by former executives of the gun-rights non-profit, which was registered as a charity in New York.
A judge in 2024 fined Trump $355 million for inflating his properties to obtain favorable loan terms. A mid-level appeals court threw out the penalty last month. James’ office last week appealed the ruling to the state Court of Appeals.
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a North Country Republican who is considering a 2026 gubernatorial bid, said Sarcone’s investigation is a “vital step toward justice.”
“As James famously said, ‘No one is above the law,’” Stefanik said. “That standard also applies to her. She is going to find out how true her own words are now that the DOJ opened a grand jury investigation into her abuse of power.”
Sarcone’s probe is newer than a parallel investigation into whether James made false statements on documents related to properties in Brooklyn and Virginia. Documents show Ed Martin Jr., a special federal prosecutor, is handling the matter after a referral from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The FHFA says James falsely declared that she intended to occupy a Virginia property that she purchased along with a niece, who currently resides there. The FHFA also claimed James incorrectly said her Brooklyn residence contains four units rather than five, as was listed on a 2001 certificate of occupancy.
Agency director William Pulte said the statements allowed James to receive favorable loan terms. James told NY1 that the allegations are “baseless” and “nothing more than a revenge tour.”
Martin recently visited James’ Brooklyn house and posted a photo of himself outside, wearing a trench coat on a late-August day. In response, Democratic attorneys general from around the country penned a letter supporting James.
“Every aspect of the Department’s campaign against AG James makes plain that it is not rooted in any legitimate suspicion of wrongdoing: President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi are both on record having made public threats against AG James,” the attorneys general wrote last month.
New York law covers legal expenses for state employees if the actions in question are related to their jobs. Lowell’s bill for the mortgage case is expected to be covered by a special $10 million appropriation in this year’s state budget for people facing investigations that “could reasonably be construed to constitute discriminatory or retaliatory treatment by the United States government.”
So far, no money has been expended related to either probe, the comptroller’s office said.
