Letitia James ran for attorney general of New York in 2018 on a single promise: “We will prosecute the president for crimes committed in New York state.” Not “we will enforce the law.” Not “we will follow the evidence.” We will prosecute the president. The target was identified before a single file was opened.
A prosecutor inside her own office just confirmed it in writing.
Daniel Wiesenfeld — a former Brooklyn prosecutor now assigned to the Investor Protection Bureau in James’ AG office — sent an email Friday to hundreds of colleagues confirming exactly what conservatives have been saying since James’ tenure began. He alleges he was instructed by his bureau chief, Shamiso Maswoswe, to “find and pursue crimes committed by specific individuals and organizations affiliated with Donald Trump” — specifically Trump himself, Truth Social, and Hewlett-Packard — “without having a credible reason.”
Find the man, then find the crime. Not find the crime, then find the man. The inverse of how legitimate law enforcement is supposed to work.
Wiesenfeld said it plainly: “If you believe Trump is using (Department of Justice) attorneys to prosecute his enemies and further his political interests, you should find it equally troubling that Tish is doing exactly the same thing.”
Then came the detail that tells you everything about how seriously James’ office takes this accusation. The email was sent agency-wide to hundreds of employees. The Times Union obtained a copy. Within hours, it was deleted from state computer servers. The general counsel sent a follow-up message calling it an “internal personnel matter.” Wiesenfeld was placed on administrative leave with pay — the standard government response to inconvenient truth-tellers.
Prosecutor in NY AG Letitia James’ office says he was ordered to dig up dirt on Trump allies: report. Read today's cover here: https://t.co/CiptJNKkSO pic.twitter.com/dALSmM0H1X
— New York Post (@nypost) August 31, 2026
You don’t delete emails from state servers because an employee has a baseless grievance. You delete emails from state servers when you don’t want what they say to become part of the public record.
I stood on those courthouse steps every day and told you exactly what Letitia James was doing.
She didn’t find a crime and follow the evidence. She picked President Trump and went shopping for one.
They called me a liar.
Now the truth is coming from inside her own office.
— Alina Habba (@AlinaHabba) August 30, 2026
Former Trump lawyer and U.S. attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba posted what the entire Trump legal team has been saying for years: “I stood on those courthouse steps every day and told you exactly what Letitia James was doing. She didn’t find a crime and follow the evidence. She picked President Trump and went shopping for one. They called me a liar. Now the truth is coming from inside her own office. I told you so, Tish. The witch hunt just found its whistleblower.”
The final line of Wiesenfeld’s email — “I hope you choose to prosecute crimes and find the individuals accountable, rather than targeting individuals and then finding crimes” — is both a principle statement and an indictment. It describes a law enforcement office that has abandoned the former in favor of the latter, and asks colleagues to choose which side of that line they want to stand on.
James went low. Her office deleted the evidence of it. The Times Union got the email anyway.
Tish’s witch hunt just found its whistleblower. The email was real. The servers know it was real. And now the country knows too. Trump should sue her into oblivion and force the state of New York to pay him a lot of money.
