Democratic AGs decry ‘political retaliation’ against James

By Chris Wade
The Center Square

A group of Democratic attorneys general has circled the wagons around New York Attorney General Letitia James, accusing the U.S. Department of Justice of waging a campaign of “political retribution” against her over criticism of the Trump administration.

In an open letter, the 21 Democrats, including Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Rhode Island’s Peter Noronha, accused Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi of “pursuing a pattern of harassment and intimidation” in retaliation for James pursuing “legitimate claims of financial fraud against President Trump and his business organization under New York state law.”

“As the attorneys general and chief legal officers of our respective states, we know that the people rely on prosecutorial authorities to wield the power of government to protect the public interest, without fear or favor,” the AGs wrote. “Deploying the power of the government in pursuit of personal vendettas, to achieve political ends, or to thwart the enforcement of state law is an abuse of that trust.”

The Justice Department’s investigation is part of a broader probe of James’ civil fraud trial against Trump and his family business on charges that he broke the law by inflating the values on his New York City properties.

That trial ended in a $454 million civil judgment against the Trump organization and several of its executives, which was overturned by a New York appeals court last week. James is expected to appeal the decision to the state’s highest court.

The AG’s took aim at the lead prosecutor in the DOJ’s investigation of James, Edward R. Martin Jr., calling him a “political operative with no practical experience” in law enforcement. They said Martin sent a crude letter to James’ personal attorney last week suggesting she should resign from office “as an act of good faith” and that he later showed up outside her home in Brooklyn, posing for press photographs.

“Mr. Martin’s antics and actions amount more to those of a showman than to those of a representative of the United States government charged with ensuring that impartiality, integrity, and fairness are the cornerstones of criminal investigation and enforcement,” they wrote. “In the face of Mr. Martin’s escalating antics and threats, the Department has only confirmed its continued support for his efforts.

James, who was first elected in 2018, has been a frequent critic of Trump and, in addition to the civil fraud trial, has filed several multistate lawsuits against the Trump administration over federal immigration policies, rollbacks in federal funding, and worker layoffs and other actions.

In addition to the DOJ probe, she is also facing potential criminal charges by federal prosecutors over allegations she engaged in mortgage fraud. In April, the Federal Housing Finance Agency sent a letter to the DOJ accusing James of committing fraud by listing a home in Virginia as her primary residence and identifying her father as her husband on federally backed mortgage loan applications to get a lower interest rate and more favorable terms.