WATCH: ‘Everyone in America’ Commits Mortgage Fraud, CNN’s Kasie Hunt Says

Prosecutors have accused NY AG Letitia James of renting out a property she claimed would serve as a secondary residence, saving her thousands of dollars

CNN host Kasie Hunt dismissed mortgage-related bank fraud charges against New York attorney general Letitia James, claiming it’s something “everyone in America” deals with.

“This is something that everyone in America—or many people at least if you’re lucky enough to buy a house in America—you deal with this. The federal government doesn’t go after all of these people for doing this,” Hunt said Thursday on The Arena.

Hunt’s guest, former federal prosecutor Berit Berger, pushed back.

“Mortgage fraud is something—it is really bread and butter of most of the prosecutors’ offices in federal offices across the country,” she said. “I mean, they bring hundreds and hundreds of these types of cases every year.”

“This is something that we charge every single day,” Berger added. “You do want to hold people that are in political positions, or positions where they’re high-profile, if they’ve committed that crime, you want to hold them to account for that.”

James was indicted Thursday in the Eastern District of Virginia on bank fraud and false statement charges. The indictment accuses the Democrat of renting out a Norfolk, Va., home after claiming on loan documents she would use it as a secondary residence. Prosecutors said the misrepresentation saved James nearly $19,000.

James called the indictment a “weaponization of our justice system.”

“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,” she said in a Thursday statement. “The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties.”

Critics have accused President Donald Trump of targeting James as retribution for pursuing a fraud lawsuit against him in 2022. A New York court initially ordered him to pay $464 million, but an appeals panel later threw out the fine, calling it “excessive.”

Mortgage fraud allegations have entangled several Democrats in recent months. Maryland senator Angela Alsobrooks last year faced a $47,500 bill for back taxes and interest after renting out a Washington, D.C., home she inherited while improperly claiming tax exemptions meant only for seniors and primary residents of the district. The Trump administration also accused Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook in September of listing two properties as her primary residence, though one actually served as a “vacation home.”