MSNBC’s May 10 segment on the federal investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia James wasn’t just incomplete—it was a journalistic cover-up masquerading as news. Rather than informing viewers about documented evidence, the network staged what amounted to a public relations defense operation, hiding critical facts while promoting a political narrative designed to shield James from legitimate scrutiny.
The Political Shield: Manufacturing a Narrative
MSNBC didn’t merely fail to report the facts—they actively constructed a counter-narrative. From the segment’s opening moments, host Alex Witt characterized the investigation as purely political, describing James as “who appears to be the first target of the first criminal investigation by President Trump into his political adversaries.” To further build their narrative, MSNBC aired a pre-recorded clip of James dismissing the investigation:
Letitia James: “THIS IS NOTHING MORE THAN AN EXTENSION OF HIS REVENGE, HIS RETRIBUTION, AND HE FINALLY GOT UP TO THE JAYS. AND SO I STAND PREPARED TO RESPOND TO THESE BASELESS ATTACKS WITH FACTS. AND WE LOOK FORWARD, OBVIOUSLY, TO FURTHER DISCUSSIONS WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE.” [0:33]
MSNBC’s political narrative rests on a central falsehood: that the investigation is merely Trump’s revenge rather than a legitimate probe based on documented evidence. To maintain this fiction, they deliberately concealed a critical fact from viewers: the investigation stems in large part from my research and documentation of James’ financial discrepancies. As a registered Democrat with no connection to Trump, my findings directly contradict their partisan framing—which explains why MSNBC never mentioned my work, never showed any of the primary source documents I’ve published, and never informed viewers about the actual substance of the investigation.
MSNBC’s Commentary: Active Misinformation and Deflection
Rather than exploring the voluminous documented evidence, MSNBC’s commentary didn’t just dismiss the investigation—it actively misled viewers about its nature and scope:
Michael Hardaway presented outright misinformation:
“WELL, IT’S SHOCKING SHE’S BEING ATTACKED AND PERSECUTED FOR DOING HER JOB, WHICH IS PROSECUTING SOMEONE WHO COMMITTED A CRIME LIKE DONALD TRUMP DID. I MEAN, THIS DOESN’T HAPPEN IN A REAL DEMOCRACY.” [1:42]
Brendan Buck’s response was equally misleading, trivializing serious potential felonies as inconsequential:
“CERTAINLY THIS FEELS LIKE RETRIBUTION. IT FEELS PRETTY SMALL, SORT OF TICKY TACKY STUFF THAT THEY’RE GOING AFTER HER ON. BUT ALSO FEELS A BIT LIKE INTIMIDATION TO PEOPLE WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN COMING AFTER HIM IN THE FUTURE. WE KNOW THAT HE’S GONE AFTER LAW FIRMS TRYING TO DISCOURAGE ANY LAW FIRMS FROM TAKING ANY CASES THAT MAY HURT HIM, SO THEY’RE COVERED ALL THEIR BASES JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT NOBODY’S HOLDING DONALD TRUMP ACCOUNTABLE IN ANY WAY THAT THEY CAN.” [2:57]
This isn’t journalism—it’s propaganda. Not a single primary document was shown, not a single specific allegation was accurately described, and not a single question was raised about the documented inconsistencies in James’ filings. Instead, MSNBC’s audience received a coordinated effort to discredit the investigation before viewers could learn what it was actually about.
The Documented Evidence MSNBC Deliberately Concealed
The investigation into James’ financial disclosures reveals a troubling pattern across multiple properties spanning years—documentation that MSNBC chose to actively suppress from its viewers:
1. The Virginia Declaration Contradiction
Perhaps the most damning evidence emerged from James’ property transactions for 604 Sterling Street, Norfolk, Virginia, as detailed in my April 1, 2025 investigative report. What makes this particularly significant is its timing in relation to the Trump fraud case—a key fact MSNBC omitted. A chronological examination reveals a calculated pattern:
Timeline:
- August 2, 2023: James emails her mortgage broker stating the property at 604 Sterling Street “WILL NOT be my primary residence” and marks “NO” on the primary residence question in her loan application.
- August 17, 2023: Just two weeks later, James contradicts herself by signing a Power of Attorney with a notarized declaration: “I HEREBY DECLARE that I intend to occupy this property as my principal residence.” This document is witnessed by two senior staff members from her own Attorney General’s office: Jennifer Levy (First Deputy Attorney General) and Sharona Parchment.
- August 30, 2023: Based on her sworn declaration, the mortgage closes with favorable owner-occupancy terms, requiring James to establish residency within 60 days. This mortgage was underwritten based on her sworn affidavit and was never corrected or amended, despite the contradictory information she had provided earlier.
- October 2, 2023: James launches the Trump fraud trial in Manhattan—46 days after declaring Virginia would be her principal residence, and just before the residency deadline in her mortgage agreement.
- October-December 2023: Instead of establishing Virginia residency as her mortgage required, James appears regularly in New York for the Trump trial and continues her official AG duties.
- May 15, 2024: James files her 2023 Financial Disclosure Statement with no mention of the Virginia property or mortgage, despite legal requirements to disclose all real property interests exceeding $1,000 and all debts exceeding $10,000.
- April 1, 2025: I publish the first investigative exposé on James’ Virginia property declaration, revealing the Power of Attorney document and its potential legal implications.
- April 15, 2025: Following publication of these findings, a formal criminal referral is submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice, citing potential violations of federal laws against false statements to financial institutions.
- April 24, 2025: Abbe Lowell sends letter to U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi attempting to defend James. Lowell claims there was a “subsequent disclosure” to the lender but provides no documentation of such disclosure and refers to mortgage application documents from August 2, 2023—contradicting his own timeline defense.
- May 8, 2025: The Guardian reports a federal grand jury has been convened in Virginia to investigate the property transactions and sworn statements.
The evidence is unambiguous: James first explicitly told her broker the property would not be her primary residence, then signed a contradictory declaration to secure more favorable mortgage terms, and finally omitted the property entirely from her legally required financial disclosures.
2. The Brooklyn Property Unit Count Deception (2001-2023)
Since 2001, public records show James has consistently misrepresented her Brooklyn brownstone at 296 Lafayette Avenue as having fewer units than it actually contains. The Certificate of Occupancy officially classifies it as a 5-unit building, yet James repeatedly described it as having 1-4 units on mortgage documents.
The consequences of this misrepresentation were significant. In 2011, as documented by Gateway Pundit’s Joel Gilbert, James received a federally subsidized mortgage through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)—a program that explicitly excluded buildings with more than 4 units.
My investigation expanded on this finding, uncovering multiple contradictory handwritten modifications on the mortgage document that appear calculated to maintain technical eligibility while creating plausible deniability. In one corner, someone scrawled “4 fam” to establish HAMP eligibility. Yet elsewhere on the same document, another handwritten modification reads “…not more than 6 residential units…” — directly contradicting both the “4 fam” notation and the actual Certificate of Occupancy. These handwritten alterations were made just before filing the documents, creating deliberate ambiguity about the property’s status that allowed James to access federal mortgage assistance she wouldn’t otherwise qualify for.
This wasn’t a one-time error—it was a consistent pattern across decades of documentation.
3. A Maze of Phantom Loans and Missing Disclosures
Beyond the Virginia declaration issue, James’ financial disclosures reveal a byzantine pattern of inconsistencies across all her properties:
Brooklyn Property (296 Lafayette Avenue):
- The “First Savings Bank Phantom Loan” appears on James’ financial disclosures since at least 2020, but an exhaustive search of New York City’s property records database reveals no trace of this loan in any official filings.
- A documented Citibank HELOC from August 2019 went undisclosed for three years, suddenly appeared in her 2022 disclosure, then mysteriously vanished from her 2023 filing without any record of satisfaction.
- The Citizens Bank loan recorded in July 2021 underwent an inexplicable transformation: undisclosed in 2021, categorized as a mortgage in 2022, then reclassified as a HELOC in 2023—without any corresponding modifications in public records.
Norfolk Property (3121 Peronne Avenue):
- James never disclosed the $109,600 OVM Financial mortgage that financed her 2020 purchase, despite this being the only documented mortgage on the property.
- Instead, her 2023 disclosures list two different mortgages (Freedom Mortgage $150K-$250K and National Mortgage $100K-$150K) that a comprehensive title search could not locate in any official records.
Sterling Street Property (604 Sterling Street):
- This property and its $219,780 mortgage were completely absent from her 2023 financial disclosure, a clear violation of disclosure requirements.
4. The Federal Criminal Referral
On April 14, 2025, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) formally referred James to the Department of Justice, stating: “James falsified bank documents and property records to acquire government backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms.”
The Legal Reality MSNBC Concealed from Viewers
Far from the “ticky tacky stuff” Buck deceptively characterized, these allegations involve potentially serious federal felonies with severe penalties:
- Financial Disclosure Violations: New York Public Officers Law requires disclosure of all real estate holdings and mortgages on income-producing properties, with civil penalties up to $40,000 for false statements
- Mortgage Fraud: False statements on federally backed mortgages violate 18 U.S.C. § 1014, punishable by up to 30 years in prison
- Wire/Mail/Bank Fraud: The pattern of contradictory declarations could constitute the same charges James has aggressively pursued against others
- Office Vacancy: Establishing Virginia residency would have automatically vacated her position under NY Public Officers Law § 30
Any serious journalistic examination would ask fundamental questions: Why did James contradict her own statements about primary residence within two weeks? Why misrepresent her Brooklyn property’s unit count for over 20 years? Why do her disclosures list mortgages that don’t exist in any records while omitting active mortgages recorded in public filings? How did she qualify for a federal program her building was explicitly excluded from?
The Ultimate Irony
Perhaps the most revealing aspect of MSNBC’s coverage was what went unmentioned: James won a $355 million judgment against Trump for allegedly misrepresenting property values to obtain financial benefits—precisely what she is now accused of doing herself. This glaring double standard went completely unaddressed.
Conclusion: Media Malfeasance at Its Worst
MSNBC’s handling of the James investigation represents a complete abdication of journalistic responsibility. The network didn’t just fail to report essential facts—it actively worked to prevent viewers from learning those facts while promoting a manufactured political narrative designed to discredit legitimate investigative findings.
When a news organization actively conceals documented evidence from viewers, it ceases to function as journalism and becomes propaganda. MSNBC had access to the same public documents and investigation findings as everyone else, but chose to shield James while attacking the investigation’s legitimacy. This wasn’t editorial discretion—it was narrative control.
This represents a betrayal of the public trust and demonstrates why confidence in mainstream media continues to decline. When media organizations transform from watchdogs to guard dogs—protecting powerful figures while attacking legitimate scrutiny—they undermine democracy itself.
Written by,
Sam Antar
© 2025 Sam Antar. All rights reserved.