The letter written to Special Attorney for Mortgage Fraud Ed Martin by a lawyer, Abbe Lowell, for New York’s attorney general, Letitia James, marks a new escalation in the clash between the Department of Justice and the Empire State’s top law enforcement official. 

Attorney General Pam Bondi directed Mr. Martin, a senior DOJ official, to oversee a criminal investigation of Ms. James after the Federal Housing Financing Agency referred the case to Main Justice. At issue are allegations of mortgage fraud related to Ms. James’s personal real estate dealings. 

Additionally, Ms. James is under investigation by federal prosecutors at Albany — the official seat of her office — for allegedly violating President Trump’s civil rights when she, in her official capacity, brought a fraud lawsuit against him, his family, and his business. That civil suit resulted in a judgement of some $500 million. 

Mr. Martin, who previously served as acting United States attorney for the District of Columbia, now holds a list of titles — United States pardon attorney, director of the Weaponization Working Group, and special attorney. In addition to assigning him the matter of Ms. James and her real estate, Ms. Bondi has tasked him with investigating Senator Adam Schiff for alleged mortgage fraud. 

Mr. Lowell, whose clients have included Jared and Ivanka Trump, Hunter Biden, and Senator John Edwards, tells Mr. Martin in his letter that “it is difficult to know where to begin” in respect of Mr. Martin’s probe into his client. Mr. Martin, a former leader of the Missouri Republicans who also was an organizer in the “Stop the Steal” effort, was spotted eyeing Ms. James’s Brooklyn brownstone that is at the center of the criminal investigation.

Referring to the Albany matter, Mr. Lowell claims that Mr. Trump, in response to Ms. James’s courtroom success, “has falsely alleged that Ms. James’ actions were political and unlawful.” The interim United States attorney for Northern New York has convened a grand jury — which endorsed subpoenas — to weigh whether Ms. James violated a federal statute that proscribes the “deprivation of rights.” That could lead to a civil case or criminal charges. 

After the fraud verdict was decided, Mr. Trump reposted a call for Ms. James to be “placed under citizen’s arrest for blatant election interference and harassment.” Ms. Bondi has declared,  “What Letitia James did is abhorrent” and fumed: “She can’t get away with this … I think she needs to be looked at.” Ms. James for her part ran for office vowing to “shine a light” on the business dealings of Mr. Trump, whom she has called “illegitimate.”

Mr. Lowell writes to Mr. Martin, “Were first there any doubts as to your political retributive mission you erased them in your statements about your appointment when you stated that your assignment is to ‘stick the landing.’ A responsible and credible federal prosecutor is not a pommel horse gymnast.” 

Mr. Lowell, in a scathing aside, references a previous letter from Mr. Martin. Ms. James’s lawyer writes that “because of its numerous mistakes and misstatements at first I was not sure it was actually from you.” Mr. Lowell also notes: “I recognize you were not a prosecutor before taking on the four roles indicated on your letterhead but know there must be others with whom you are working who have such experience.”

Mr. Martin has called for Ms. James to resign, a course that Mr. Lowell’s letter firmly rejects. Mr. Lowell also zeroes in on what he calls “the truly bizarre, made-for-media stunt you orchestrated last Friday. You and your colleague, Neil McCabe, traveled to Brooklyn, New York to stage a photo opportunity in front of Ms. James’ house. The New York Post, with a photographer in tow, was there to capture the moment. That was no coincidence of course.”

Mr. Lowell reasons, “One has no conceivable idea of any proper or legitimate reason you went to Ms. James’ house, what you were doing, and for what actual purpose.” The criminal referral against Ms. James accuses her of misrepresenting the number of units in that brownstone as four rather than five* to secure better loan terms. Mr. Martin later told Fox News that, in respect of the property, “I’m a prosecutor … I wanted to lay eyes on it. … I wanted to see the property.”

Mr. Lowell, like many high-profile attorneys, has hardly been averse to making his own push in the press, going back to his early days representing House Democrats during the  impeachment of President Clinton. On Tuesday he appeared on erstwhile Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin’s Substack, “The Contrarian,” to make his case against the Trump administration. Last week Mr. Lowell, asserted on MSNBC that Mr. Trump’s alleged campaign of retribution “makes George Orwell’s ‘1984’ look like a Mother Goose nursery rhyme.” 

Mr. Lowell concludes his letter on a defiant note, telling Mr. Martin, “You cannot unilaterally conduct a media campaign to prejudice and intimidate my client and expect there will be no similar public response. And, whenever you do bring your threatened action, please explain to the judges before whom you file all that you have been saying and doing.”

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Ms. James is accused of reporting that her Brooklyn brownstone possessed four rather than five units. The allegation was misstated in an earlier edition.