'This is madness': WSJ editorial board reams Trump after 'historic mistake'

The Wall Street Journal editorial board shredded President Donald Trump on Friday over his administration's move to bring criminal charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Trump's newly-appointed Eastern Virginia prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, is charging James with bank fraud, over highly partisan allegations by Trump's housing finance chief, Bill Pulte, that James defrauded mortgage lenders by declaring multiple primary residences. James has denied these allegations, and a review of records shows evidence that she, in fact, told her lender that one residence would not be primary. Meanwhile, the case was advanced so abruptly that even Attorney General Pam Bondi reportedly wasn't aware it was happening.

The WSJ board, conservative by nature and no fan of Democrats, went out of its way to also criticize James' civil fraud judgment won against Trump's family and business during his period out of office, which is speculated to be what Trump is seeking revenge for.

But that doesn't excuse this case, they argued.

"Other prosecutors in Ms. Halligan’s office, including her predecessor Erik Siebert, apparently didn’t think the feds had a case against Ms. James. Yet the President urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after her in a public internet post," wrote the board.

Meanwhile, they noted, James could also argue "that Ms. Halligan is acting without constitutional authority, because she was improperly appointed. Federal law lets the President fill a U.S. Attorney vacancy by naming an 'interim' prosecutor for 120 days. Mr. Trump put Mr. Siebert in that role, before ousting him after he didn’t charge Ms. James and Mr. Comey."

Some of Trump's other prosecutors appointed this way have been thwarted with this argument.

"None of this, on either side, is healthy for the republic," wrote the board. "Ms. James accused Mr. Trump of civil fraud, while giving no evidence that his sophisticated lenders suffered any losses." Similarly, "This week’s indictment of Ms. James gives no indication that anyone lost money. Federal housing regulator Bill Pulte seems to believe his job is to dig through filing cabinets for dirt on Mr. Trump’s enemies, even as news reports suggest flyspecking mortgages to this degree could fill America’s jails in about five minutes, including with Republicans."

"Worried about Mr. Trump’s promises of retribution, President Biden issued blanket pardons on his way out the door. After taking his revenge, will Mr. Trump have to do the same on Jan. 20, 2029? This is madness," the board concluded. Instead, they argued, it would be healthier "for both parties to conclude that the lawfare of recent years has been a historic mistake, and that nobody benefits from becoming a banana republic. Mutual assured legal destruction is no way to run a great nation."