In the bustling city of New York, socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani has come forward to defend Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, who has recently been indicted by a grand jury on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.
Mamdani has labeled this indictment as a "shameless act of political retribution" orchestrated by the Trump administration.
According to Fox News, Mamdani, during a press conference with local New York leaders, stated, "This is not simply an attack on Attorney General Tish James. This is an attack on our city. And each one of us represents different parts of that same city, and we speak with one voice today." The indictment came months after Federal Housing Finance Director Bill Pulte made a criminal referral to the Department of Justice, alleging that James had falsified mortgage records to secure more favorable loans.
Mamdani, a left-wing candidate known for his advocacy of communist principles, including the seizure of the "means of production," expressed his confidence in James' ability to win the case against her. He relayed a conversation he had with James after her indictment, stating, "Last night, she told me, 'Don't worry about me.' And that's indicative of an attorney general who has spent all of her time worrying about the people of this city. And so I know that the crosshairs the Trump administration is putting the attorney general through is because of the fact that she has had the audacity to stand up to him at a time when so many have bowed."
Mamdani further emphasized James' confidence in her legal team, stating, "She has also made it clear to myself and many others that she has a full confidence in the legal team around her that will ensure that not only will she have the record of having won the case in the courtroom behind us, but winning this case as well."
James has been a longstanding political adversary of Trump, having campaigned for the attorney general position in 2018 with a promise to aggressively pursue legal charges against Trump if elected. Her office has filed 100 legal challenges against the first Trump administration and vowed to continue challenging him in the courts to "defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law" after his second presidential win in 2024.
Mamdani continued to lambast the Trump administration, stating, "What Donald Trump has sought to do with taking over the federal government is to advance his own greed and his own agenda. And we are now watching, as in the pursuit of that advancement, he lays waste to our democracy. This is a blatant miscarriage of justice. This is a shameless act of political retribution."
He also criticized Trump's inability to fulfill his presidential promises, stating, "Instead of prosecuting Tish James for doing her job, Donald Trump should be doing his. Because Donald Trump ran for president on three promises: to carry out mass deportation, to punish his political enemies and to ease the cost-of-living crisis," claiming Trump is "fundamentally incapable of delivering on" the third promise.
Mamdani pledged to support James throughout her legal troubles and condemned Trump's "authoritarian administration." He said, "The first, in its example of an authoritarian administration that is looking to punish those for whom their only crime is holding Donald Trump to the same laws that every American should be held to. And the second is what it asks of each of us. Will we sit idly by as an authoritarian president like Donald Trump attacks the very fabric of this democracy?"
The criminal referral letter from Pulte in April highlighted a home in Norfolk, Virginia, purchased by James in 2023, which she identified on mortgage documents and a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac form as her primary residence. However, as a statewide elected official, James is legally required to live in New York.
The referral also cited past reported issues with James' properties, including a 2001 purchase of a Brooklyn, New York, property. The certificate of occupancy lists the property as a five-unit residence, while James' mortgages list the property as four units, which could affect mortgage agreements.
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