Letitia James has made a career out of lecturing others about “accountability” and “no one being above the law,” but now she’s the one looking down the barrel of possible criminal charges. And we’re not talking about a parking ticket here. The New York Attorney General is knee-deep in scandals ranging from mortgage fraud to potentially harboring her fugitive niece, Nikia Monique Thompson, at her Virginia home.
Let’s start with the fugitive angle. Thompson, who has an impressive rap sheet spanning two decades of criminal activity in Virginia and North Carolina, is officially listed as an absconder by the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction. Translation: she skipped out on probation and the state wants her back in custody. Authorities even set up a tip line to help track her down. But according to credible reports, Thompson isn’t exactly hiding in a backwoods shack. She’s living comfortably at none other than James’s Norfolk, Virginia property—the same one tied up in the mortgage fraud mess.
Now here’s where it gets legally sticky. If you harbor a fugitive in Virginia, state law makes you an accessory after the fact. That’s a Class 1 misdemeanor with penalties up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine. But because Thompson fled across state lines, federal law also comes into play. Under 18 U.S.C. § 1073, harboring someone who fled prosecution could mean up to 5 years in federal prison. And no, being the Attorney General of New York doesn’t give you a “family discount.”
This comes on top of James’s mortgage scandal, where she allegedly falsified residency information to secure better loan terms. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte already referred her case to the DOJ, calling out her sworn declaration that Virginia was her “principal residence.” That little box she checked on the mortgage documents isn’t just paperwork—it’s potentially bank fraud. President Trump’s appointment of Special Prosecutor Ed Martin signals just how serious this investigation has become. Martin has reportedly told James’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, that resignation might be her only off-ramp before this blows up even worse.
The irony here is rich. James has spent years going after President Trump and conservatives under the banner of “no one is above the law.” Yet when it’s her niece, who just happens to have worked on her campaigns, suddenly harboring a fugitive is just “helping family.” Mortgage fraud becomes “being a good aunt.” Give me a break.
If James actually believes her own slogans, she ought to prove it by stepping down before prosecutors make that decision for her. Otherwise, the woman who tried to take down President Trump might just find herself trading in the Attorney General’s office for a jail cell in Virginia—or worse, federal prison.
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