New York Attorney General Letitia James had a rough Thursday night at her debate against Republican challenger Saritha Komatireddy, and that’s putting it kindly. The evening produced multiple cringe-worthy moments for the incumbent, starting with a question so basic it should have been a layup.
A moderator asked James to name a past New York attorney general she admires. Simple, right? Not for James. She went silent for about 10 seconds, just standing there, prompting Komatireddy to jump in with, “She only admires herself.” James eventually fired back, “No, no, no, we admire others,” which raises the question of who exactly “we” is. The royal we? The editorial board of herself?
When James finally produced an answer, it was a masterpiece of saying nothing: “I admire all of the past attorneys general because it’s a difficult job and you’ve got to stand up.” All of them. Great. That would include Eliot Spitzer, who got caught up in an alleged prostitution scandal as governor, Andrew Cuomo, who resigned as governor following a s-xual harassment investigation, and Eric Schneiderman, who stepped down as AG after being accused of physically abusing women.
Quite the hall of fame. the Letitia James debate performance, Komatireddy had a crisp, ready answer: Dennis Vacco, the last Republican to hold the office. At a time when New York State needed it, we had another former federal prosecutor become attorney general and bring law and order,” Komatireddy said.
The debate got even more revealing when the topic turned to prediction markets and whether an investigation was warranted. Komatireddy said she would examine the facts and the law to determine next steps. James had a different approach. “You don’t have to look at the facts and the law,” James said. “All you have to do is study what they do. It’s illegal in the state of New York.” Komatireddy pounced immediately: “There you go. You don’t have to look at the facts and the law, gentlemen. Your attorney general.”
Congressman Mike Lawler called it “one of the biggest Freudian slips” he had ever seen, saying James had basically confirmed she pre-judges cases based on politics rather than evidence. That tracks. James famously promised in her 2018 campaign to go after Donald Trump, calling him “this illegitimate president,” before identifying a single law he had broken. Her office eventually brought civil fraud charges, and a judge hit Trump with $450 million in fines. An appeals court later completely voided the financial judgment, which was a pretty big win for Trump.
Just last week, James refused to address why she publicly declared a rape accuser’s story “horrific and unacceptable” on social media just days before being assigned as special prosecutor in that very case at Cornell University. When a reporter asked, “Why did you affirm her allegations as fact without doing your own fact-finding investigation?” James replied, “I will not comment on a Facebook post.” Sure, that clears things up.
Komatireddy summed up eight years of James in one line during the debate: “New Yorkers, you do not have an attorney general right now. For the last eight years, you’ve had a political hack sitting in the chair, using our taxpayer money for her political purposes.” New Yorkers will get to decide in November whether that assessment is accurate. Based on Thursday night, Letitia James probably wishes the debate had never happened. Tell us what you think in the comments or share this on social media.
