A conservative-aligned watchdog group has filed a bar complaint accusing New York Attorney General Letitia James of professional misconduct tied to her Norfolk, Virginia, mortgage, allegations that were also at the center of her recently dismissed federal charges.

The Center to Advance Security in America (CASA) filed the complaint with the state’s Attorney Grievance Committee, accusing James of engaging in “illegal and dishonest conduct” in connection with the mortgage she took out on the property, according to the New York Post.

According to the complaint and related public statements, the group alleges that James’ actions raise concerns under the state’s Rules of Professional Conduct, the ethical standards that govern lawyers in New York.

“Fraud, misrepresentation, honesty and trustworthiness are all factors that the Rules of Professional Conduct expressly consider when weighing whether to discipline an attorney,” Curtis Schube, the group’s director of research and policy, wrote in the four-page complaint, according to the outlet.

A TALE OF TWO INDICTMENTS: TOP DEMS SAY ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’ ON TRUMP, BUT DECRY COMEY CASE

“The Committee, therefore, should immediately investigate the allegations against James and, if by ‘preponderance of the evidence’ the allegations are substantiated, she should be disciplined accordingly.”

A federal judge threw out the indictments against James and former FBI Director James Comey on Monday, finding they were illegitimate because they had been brought by an unqualified U.S. attorney.

Judge Cameron Currie dismissed the bank fraud charges against James and the false statements charges against Comey without prejudice, meaning the charges could be brought again.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News’ Martha MacCallum that the Department of Justice plans to appeal.

“We believe the attorney in this case, Lindsey Halligan, is not only extremely qualified for this position, but she was in fact legally appointed,” Leavitt said. “And I know the Department of Justice will be appealing this in very short order.”

LETITIA JAMES VOWS TO CONTINUE TARGETING TRUMP AFTER YEARS IN THE COURTROOM: ‘TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME’

Currie, a Clinton appointee based in South Carolina, was brought in from out of state to preside over proceedings about the question of Halligan’s authority because it presented a conflict for the Virginia judges. Comey’s and James’ challenges to Halligan’s appointment were consolidated because of their similarity.

Halligan acted alone in presenting charges to the grand juries shortly after Trump ousted the prior interim U.S. attorney, Erik Siebert, and urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to replace him with Halligan, a former White House aide and insurance lawyer. Bondi complied, but Currie found the interim U.S. attorney term had already expired under Siebert and that the Virginia judges were now responsible for appointing a temporary U.S. attorney to serve until Trump could get one confirmed in the Senate. 

James was indicted on Oct. 9 for allegedly falsifying mortgage documents to secure a $109,600 loan on the property. She was also charged with making false statements to a financial institution.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

James, a second-term Democrat, was accused of claiming the property as her principal residence in 2023 despite being a public office holder in New York at that same time.

She has denied wrongdoing. She previously said she made an error while filling out a form related to the home purchase but fixed it. She noted that she had never tried to deceive the lender.

Fox News Digital reached out to both the New York attorney general’s office and CASA but did not immediately receive a response.

Fox News’ Ashley Oliver and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox reported homicides are up nearly 30% this year, as Mayor Michelle Wu continued to tout Boston as the safest major city in the country at a year-end public safety briefing.

Cox said there have been 31 homicides in the city thus far this year, compared to 24 for all of last year, but said that number still reflects a near record-low for the city — and represents a 16% decrease from the city’s five-year average.

“In comparison to last year’s 67-year low in homicide rates in the city’s history, we have had an increase, although we don’t know what the final number will be,” Cox said Monday at the Boston EMS Training Center in West Roxbury. “This year still represents a 16% decrease from our five-year average, and the lowest number in the last 20 years, but for the 67-year low I made mention to.”

The 29.1% uptick in homicides was reported by the police commissioner at an end-of-year public safety briefing that was a more tempered affair than how 2024 police statistics were reported last December.

At last year’s press conference, Cox boasted that the “city has never been safer,” when joining the mayor in rolling out end-of-year crime statistics that featured a record-low number of homicides and shootings.

The number of murders in 2024 “appears to be the lowest since 1957,” and is “by far” the lowest amount since the Boston Police Department began tracking such data in 2007, when there were 68 homicides, Cox said at the time.

Wu, who was gearing up for a reelection campaign at the time, pointed to the data as evidence that Boston is the “safest major city in the country.” She stuck to that same refrain on Monday, despite the uptick in homicides, and a significant spike in shoplifting that was also highlighted by the police commissioner.

“Being a home for everyone means being there, not just during the good times, but all the time,” Wu said. “It means showing up for families, even when they feel the ground beneath them is falling through and when they’re having the worst days and the worst moments of their lives.”

Referring to the city’s public safety teams, including police, firefighters and EMS personnel, Wu said, “It’s because of the care, the hard work, and the empathy of these teams that Boston is the safest major city in the country.”

Isaac Yablo, Wu’s senior advisor for community safety and director of the Office of Violence Prevention for the Boston Public Health Commission, said the city’s approach to tackling gun violence has shifted from focusing solely on five hot-spot neighborhoods to “a city-wide focus, so that more residents are being met where they’re at and we’re addressing needs more holistically.”

“As we look into the new year, we will continue focusing on secondary and tertiary prevention, but the main goal will be primary prevention — preventing the violence from happening in the first place,” Yablo said.

Cox said the Police Department has “doubled our efforts in community policing,” following last year’s record-low gun violence, which he said has led to “historic lows” for this year’s number of shooting victims and gunfire incidents. Both are down more than 30% compared to the department’s five-year averages, he said.

Shoplifting, however, remains “an issue in our city,” Cox said, which has led to the police department making retail theft an increased priority alongside its efforts to “sustain lower levels of violence” — with the two sometimes overlapping.

He attributed that increased focus, by way of a Safe Shopping Initiative the department has partnered on with the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, to a 113% increase in arrests for shoplifting this year — driven in part by a “substantial increase in timely, more detailed reporting from the retailers.”

“This increased reporting supports Boston Police Department’s ability to address repeat violent and high-volume offenders with the ultimate goal of keeping shoppers and retailers safe,” Cox said.

The police commissioner also shared statistics that suggest crime is down at the troubled intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, an area commonly referred to as Mass and Cass and known for being home to the city’s open-air drug market, as well as the downtown.

Police have targeted Mass and Cass and the downtown in recent years, following reports of increased violence and drug activity, Cox said.

Around downtown, violent crime has declined by 24% this year and police have increased patrols there by 31%, compared to last year. Officers have made 48% more arrests in the downtown, including 30% more drug arrests, he said.

The Miami Dolphins are historically a poor team in the cold. With the Pittsburgh Steelers welcoming them in a game that will occur in below-freezing temperatures, the Dolphins flew up to Pittsburgh early and practiced in a snow storm on Saturday.

The Pittsburgh area received anywhere from five-to-eight inches around the city and its suburbs, and the Dolphins practiced at Joe Walton Stadium on Robert Morris University’s campus near the Pittsburgh International Airport.

Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel is trying to turn around a narrative that his team can not win in cold weather situations. They have run the ball well over the last four games, amassing over 160 yards in each game for the first time since the 1970s.

“(Practicing in Pittsburgh on Saturday night) was something that was considered in the offseason,” McDaniel said. “The odd part of the schedule is a Monday night on the road. It always feels like you’re so far removed from the last time you were on the football field. Doing it this way allows us to have our final full-speed practice about 48 hours from kickoff. It’ll be good, I think it’s an added bonus that we get to get ourselves into the environment, but realistically, that’s something we’ve been thinking about for a while to keep consistency about 48 hours from kickoff, having your last activity.”

When the temperature is below 40 degrees, the Dolphins have lost 12 straight games. That is the stat the Dolphins hope to crack by acclimating to the cold earlier than just Monday night, but the Steelers have also practiced outside at Acrisure Stadium as they prepare for this game.