For the second time in just two weeks, a federal grand jury in Virginia refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, according to multiple media reports.

The stunning Dec. 11 development – federal prosecutors' requests for grand jury indictments are almost always successful – is yet another setback in the Justice Department's attempts to prosecute someone who has been explicitly targeted by President Donald Trump.

The news was reported by several outlets, including ABC News and CNN, which each cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

James' office and the Justice Department didn't immediately respond to USA TODAY's requests for comment.

James was initially indicted in October on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. However, federal Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, a Clinton appointee, dismissed the charges the next month, ruling that the prosecutor who secured the indictment, former Trump personal lawyer Lindsey Halligan, wasn't lawfully appointed.

Prosecutors then tried and failed to get a new indictment Dec. 4, before repeating that failure Dec. 11.

On Sept. 20, Trump called for charges against James and praised Halligan in a social media post addressed to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Bondi installed Halligan, who had never been a prosecutor before, into a top federal prosecuting role in Virginia within days of that post.

Trump's bitterness toward James has been fueled by a 2022 civil lawsuit her office brought against him, alleging he inflated the value of his assets for years to get better loan terms.

A trial judge agreed with that allegation and leveled a financial penalty against Trump that grew to about $500 million, including interest. An appeals court later upheld the fraud finding but tossed out the financial penalty, deeming it excessive. James' office has appealed that ruling.

This story has been updated with additional information. Check back for further updates.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump DOJ fails for second time to get indictment of Letitia James

Reporting by Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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