(Photo Michael M. Santiago)
A New York state prosecutor claimed on Friday that the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James ordered him to target allies of President Donald Trump, according to a report by the Times Union.
Assistant Attorney General Daniel Wiesenfeld sent an agency-wide email on Friday claiming that James’ office instructed him “to find and pursue crimes committed by specific individuals and organizations affiliated with Donald Trump,” the Times Union reported.
According to the Times Union, the prosecutor claimed that Investor Protection Bureau chief Shamiso Maswoswe ordered him to target the president and his social media platform Truth Social “without having a credible reason for targeting this organizations and individuals [sic].”
The email was “quickly deleted” from the office’s email servers and a follow-up was sent by Kumiki Gibson, James’ general counsel, stating the situation was an “internal” matter, the Times Union reported.
Wiesenfeld has since been placed on unpaid administrative leave, according to a comment from James’ office provided to the Times Union. “The office of the attorney general is committed to upholding New York’s laws and protecting the rights and freedoms of all New Yorkers, regardless of political beliefs,” the statement to Times Union read.
Nobody is above the law, not even @realDonaldTrump.
Forcing the nation’s top law enforcement official to resign doesn’t give him a free pass—it only raises suspicions.
I want NYers to know I‘ll hold those in power accountable & make sure the Special Counsel’s work continues.
— Tish James (@TishJames) November 7, 2018
The prosecutor also reportedly accused the attorney general of using “significant public taxpayer dollars to target convenient public enemies.”
The Attorney General’s Office provided a statement to The Daily Caller that read: “This is a personnel matter. The Office of the Attorney General is committed to upholding New York’s laws and protecting the rights and freedoms of all New Yorkers, regardless of political beliefs. We strongly reject any assertion to the contrary.”
James has a history of opposing the president, having made Trump a central focus of her campaign for attorney general in 2018. The attorney general promised her office would “hold those in power accountable” while on the campaign trail in a 2018 tweet.
“Nobody is above the law, not even [Donald Trump],” James wrote.
Trump criticized James in a 2018 tweet, writing that she “does little else but rant, rave & politic” against him.