New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks Feb. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)2025-08-19T18:16:11Z NEW YORK (AP) President Donald Trumps political weaponization czar sent a letter urging New York Attorney General Letitia James to resign from office as an act of good faith four days after starting his mortgage fraud investigation of her. Then he showed up outside her house.Ed Martin, the director of the Justice Departments Weaponization Working Group, told James lawyer on Aug. 12 the Democrat would best serve the good of the state and nation by resigning and ending his probe into alleged paperwork discrepancies on her Brooklyn townhouse and a Virginia home.Her resignation from office would give the people of New York and America more peace than proceeding, Martin wrote. I would take this as an act of good faith.Then last Friday, Martin turned up outside James Brooklyn townhouse in a Columbo-esque trench coat, accompanied by an aide and New York Post journalists. He didnt meet with James or go inside the building. A Post writer saw him tell a neighbor: Im just looking at houses, interesting houses. Its an important house. James lawyer Abbe Lowell shot back on Monday, telling Martin in a letter his blunt request for James resignation defied Justice Department standards and codes of professional responsibility and legal ethics. The Justice Department has firm policies against using investigations and against using prosecutorial power for achieving political ends, Lowell wrote. This is ever more the case when that demand is made to seek political revenge against a public official in the opposite party. Stay up to date with the latest U.S. news by signing up to our WhatsApp channel. Let me be clear: that will not happen here, Lowell added. Lowell also blasted Martins visit to James home as a truly bizarre, made-for-media stunt and said it was outside the bounds of Justice Department rules. He included an image from security camera footage showing Martin, in his trench coat, posing for a photo in front of James townhouse. He said Martin looked as if he were on a visit to a tourist attraction. The Associated Press obtained copies of both letters on Tuesday. A message seeking comment was left for Martins spokesperson. James office declined to comment.The letters were the latest salvos in a monthslong drama involving Trumps retribution campaign against James and others whove battled him in court and fought his policies.James has sued the Republican president and his administration dozens of times and last year won a $454 million judgment against Trump and his companies in a lawsuit alleging he lied about the value of his assets on financial statements given to banks. An appeals court has yet to rule on Trumps bid to overturn that verdict.Earlier this month, the AP reported, the Justice Department subpoenaed James for records related to the civil fraud lawsuit and a lawsuit she filed against the National Rifle Association.Martins investigation stems from a letter Federal Housing Finance Agency Director William Pulte sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi in April asking her to investigate and consider prosecuting James, alleging she had falsified bank documents and property records. Pulte, whose agency regulates mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, cited media reports claiming James had falsely listed a Virginia home as her principal residence, and he suggested she may have been trying to avoid higher interest rates that often apply to second homes.Records show James was listed as a co-borrower on a house her niece was buying in 2023. Lowell said records and correspondence easily disproved Pultes allegation.While James signed a power-of-attorney form that, Lowell said, mistakenly stated the property to be Ms. James principal residence, she sent an email to her mortgage loan broker around the same time that made clear the property WILL NOT be my primary residence.Pulte also accused James of lying in property records about the number of apartments in the Brooklyn townhouse she has owned since 2001.A certificate of occupancy issued to a previous owner authorized up to five units in the building, where James lives and has rented out apartments. Other city records show the townhouse has four units, a number James has listed in building permit applications and mortgage documents. On Aug. 8, Bondi appointed Martin, a former Republican political operative, to investigate. Martin, the current U.S. pardon attorney and former acting U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., is also investigating mortgage fraud allegations against Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. Schiffs lawyer called the allegations transparently false, stale, and long debunked.Lowell said it appears the working group Martin leads is aptly named as it is weaponizing the Justice Department to carry out the Presidents and Attorney Generals threats. MICHAEL R. SISAK Sisak is an Associated Press reporter covering law enforcement, courts and prisons. He is based in New York. twitter mailto