Letitia James’ Perverse Priorities Fail New Yorkers

Since assuming office, James has unleashed a relentless barrage of legal motions and press releases targeting the president and his administration. This month alone, her office issued a dozen releases—three per week—attacking Trump on issues ranging from commercial driver’s licenses to immigration enforcement, gun rights, mail-in voting, Title X funding, and beyond.

Weaponizing the Courts Against Conservative Policy

The attorney general’s legal crusade extends far beyond legitimate state interests. Her attempts to bankrupt Trump personally through a civil fraud case resulted in a nearly half-billion-dollar fine from what the New York Post describes as a blatantly biased judge—a judgment quickly overturned by a higher court. The entire prosecution may have ultimately helped Trump secure his 2024 election victory by exposing the partisan nature of the attacks against him.

James routinely joins other blue-state attorneys general in high-profile but ultimately pointless litigation, including recent action against the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger, further draining resources from her office’s actual mandate.

Medicaid Fraud: Billions Lost While AG Chases Headlines

While James pursues political theater, her neglect of critical duties has reached crisis proportions. The Empire Center ranked New York second worst in the nation for prosecuting Medicaid fraud in July, with the state placing dead last among all 50 states and the District of Columbia for Medicaid fraud indictments and convictions per billion dollars spent.

This failure is particularly egregious given that New York allocates $124 billion to the program annually. Fraudsters are siphoning billions from taxpayers while vulnerable citizens who legitimately need assistance suffer from a weakened system.

The federal government, which funds a substantial portion of Medicaid costs, has threatened to freeze funding for New York’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which operates under James’s oversight. Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Thomas March Bell publicly condemned the unit as ineffective in fighting criminal cases involving Medicaid fraud, abuse, or neglect, despite billions at stake and millions of families depending on safe care.

Missing in Action on Crime

As the state’s top law enforcement officer, James has also failed to prioritize public safety. In 2022, the Detectives’ Endowment Association—which typically refrains from commenting on attorney general races—took the extraordinary step of urging voters to reject James for failing to make public safety a priority. The association cited her decision to sue the NYPD over its handling of the Floyd riots rather than support law enforcement.

Political Opportunism Over Truth

James’s political calculation extends to local matters as well. When City Councilman Chi Ossé staged a theatrical stunt attempting to block an eviction he claimed resulted from deed theft, James initially stated correctly that deed theft was not involved. After gauging political sentiment, however, she reversed her position just two days later, falsely claiming deed theft was a factor after all.

The reversal epitomizes James’s approach: politics consistently trumps truth and her obligations to New Yorkers.

Voters will have an opportunity to hold James accountable this November as she seeks a third term in office.

With information from New York Post