Tish James has 'no fear' after Trump-driven arraignment

And the former head of the state troopers union was arraigned Friday.

Good afternoon — It’s Friday and National Bologna Day.

In today’s CapCon:

• New York Attorney General Letitia James was arraigned in Virginia Friday on charges of mortgage fraud. Here’s what she said.

• Gov. Kathy Hochul warned the Trump administration that millions of New Yorkers will go hungry in November without emergency intervention.

• The former head of the state troopers union was arraigned on charges of misusing thousands of dollars in funds.

• Hochul signed a bill to extend certain protections to students in private schools that are already in place in public schools.

• The state Assembly has scheduled two hearings in Albany next week.

• A new bill seeks to prevent mobile gambling operators from claiming kickbacks from problem gambling counseling.

Names in today’s CapCon: Tish James, Donald J. Trump, Claudia Tenney, Kathy Hochul, Brooke Rollins, Erica Vladimer, Thomas Mungeer, Andrew Cuomo, Carrie Woerner

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New York Attorney General Letitia James outside federal court in Virginia Friday (John Clark/Associated Press)

🗣️ Tish pleads not guilty in Virginia mortgage fraud case

New York Attorney General Letitia James made her first appearance in federal court in Virginia Friday to be arraigned on felony charges of bank fraud.

James is accused of falsely labeling a Virginia home as a second residence while obtaining a mortgage to purchase it. Federal prosecutors have alleged that she rented out the property instead and received favorable loan terms.

The case was brought by acting U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan, who President Donald J. Trump appointed as the top federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia after her predecessor, Erik Siebert, had sowed doubt that a credible case could be brought against James.

It’s been widely seen as retribution from Trump over the case brought against him by James in 2022. Her office accused him of inflating the value of his assets to secure more favorable financing from financial institutions.

The state judge overseeing the case ultimately ruled against Trump and ordered him to pay hundreds of millions of dollars as a penalty. A state appellate court ultimately tossed that penalty but upheld the judge’s finding in favor of James.

That brings us to Friday, when James pleaded not guilty to the charges against her in federal court. She emerged soon after and addressed a crowd that had rallied outside.