New York Attorney General Letitia James pleaded not guilty on Friday to federal charges accusing her of lying on mortgage papers to secure favorable loan terms in a case pushed by President Donald Trump.

James' first court appearance in Virginia sets the stage for a high-stakes legal battle between the Republican administration and a Democratic longtime Trump adversary who angered him with a major civil fraud case she brought against him.

James left the courthouse smiling to cheers from supporters, who chanted, “We stand with Tish!” The case, she declared, was about “a justice system which has been used as a tool of revenge … and a weapon against those individuals who simply did their job and who stood up for the rule of law.”

“My faith is strong, and I have this belief in the justice system and the rule of law, and I have a belief in America,” James said, adding, “There’s no fear today.”

James was indicted this month after the top federal prosecutor who had been overseeing the investigation was pushed out by the Trump administration and the president publicly called on the Justice Department to take action against James and other political foes. She faces bank fraud and false-statements charges in connection with a 2020 home purchase in Norfolk, Virginia.

James, who has sued Trump and his administration dozens of times, has consistently denied wrongdoing and decried the indictment as “nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system.” Her lawyers have already signaled they will challenge the appointment of the U.S. attorney who brought the indictment after the longtime prosecutor who resisted Trump administration pressure to bring charges resigned.

The indictment stems from James’ purchase of a modest house in Norfolk, where she has family. During the sale, she signed a standard document called a “second home rider” in which she agreed to keep the property primarily for her “personal use and enjoyment for at least one year,” unless the lender agreed otherwise.

Rather than using the home as a second residence, the indictment alleges, James rented it out to a family of three. According to the indictment, the misrepresentation allowed James to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties.

James has been a frequent target of Trump's ire, especially since she won a staggering judgment against the president and his companies in a lawsuit alleging he defrauded banks by overstating the value of his real estate holdings on financial statements. An appeals court overturned the fine, which had ballooned to more than $500 million with interest, but upheld a lower court’s finding that Trump had committed fraud.