The Republican challenging New York Attorney General Letitia James released a mock 52-count indictment Thursday, accusing the Democratic incumbent of neglecting her duties as the state’s top law enforcement official.
The 52-count mock indictment accuses James of failing to address mentally ill people living on the streets, repeat offenders, hate crimes and fraud while focusing instead on political battles with President Donald Trump. Rather than tackle these issues, GOP candidate Saritha Komatireddy charges that James has been too focused on sparring with President Donald Trump.
The attack comes just hours before James and Komatireddy are set to face off Thursday night in their first televised debate of the general election campaign.
Komatireddy is a former federal prosecutor who secured convictions against Islamist terrorists and prosecuted Mexican drug cartel leaders. The indictment-style press release appears to turn James’ own legal playbook against her, with Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor, casting the attorney general as the defendant.
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“When a law keeps prosecutors from charging rape, it is the chief law enforcement officer’s job to get it changed,” Komatireddy wrote. “The defendant (James) had eight legislative sessions and a Legislature led by her own party. Beyond one social media post, the People have found no evidence that she made the bill a priority.”
James’ campaign has dismissed Komatireddy’s messaging as a simple campaign stunt.
“Attorney General Letitia James files real lawsuits in real courts every day to protect New Yorkers’ rights and their wallets,” a James campaign spokeswoman told Fox News Digital. “While Saritha Komatireddy spent today writing this press release, the attorney general announced the arrest and indictment of a Queens pharmacy owner for defrauding Medicaid to the tune of $31 million.”
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A Komatireddy spokeswoman fired back, arguing that such a charge was rich coming from James.
“Tish James is one to talk about campaign stunts! Her entire tenure as attorney general has been one long political campaign stunt,” Komatireddy spokeswoman Nicole Kiprilov told Fox News Digital. “While Letitia was busy chasing her next political headline, crime rose 26%, homelessness rose 38%, and New York became the laughingstock of the nation in prosecuting Medicaid fraud — dead last. Those are the real consequences of an Attorney General more interested in political theater than public safety.”
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New York is a deep blue state, and Komatireddy’s odds of coming out on top in November are slim. A Siena University poll released last month had James leading Komatireddy 52% to 39%.
While James’ lead is commanding, it’s also shrinking, with her advantage over Komatireddy narrowing by five points between August and September in Siena University’s polling.
James has pursued a number of high-profile legal actions during her tenure as New York attorney general, including a civil fraud case against Trump and a sexual harassment investigation of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo that preceded his resignation.