Holy chutzpah!
State lawmakers have quietly tucked a sweetheart measure into one of the must-pass budget bills that would put taxpayers on the hook for legal bills Attorney General Letitia James racks up facing federal probes.
The $10 million criminal defense slush fund would seemingly cover any state employee 1) facing any federal “legally compulsive process” (e.g., subpoenas and so on) as of Jan. 1, 2025, 2) who can claim the federal probe is “a result of the employee’s New York State employment or duties.”
Insiders are clear that it would cover James, even though nothing official links her day-job work to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s criminal referral over her private real estate affairs.
There is absolutely no reason for taxpayers to have to bail out James. If she didn’t do anything wrong, as she claims, then the case should be easily dismissed. And if there is a case, well, didn’t she say that no one is above the law? That doesn’t mean no one is above legal bills.
Bailing out James isn’t just offensive on its own. The bill is so broad that it would cover just about any federal investigation of anyone who cashes a state paycheck.
Which is remarkable, since most New York political corruption convictions come from federal charges, and have for decades.
That is: The Legislature here isn’t just helping out James, it’s succoring future lawmakers and other state officials caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
Added irony: Back when ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo sued to make state taxpayers fund his defense against sex harassment suits, AG James was caustic in condemning him.
James will argue that the case against her is political, but that’s rich after how political her legal pursuit of President Trump was on charges that an appeals court is seriously considering throwing out. By the way, New York taxpayers paid for that case, too.
James has already established a private legal defense fund to fight possible federal charges, so it’s not even clear that she needs a taxpayer bailout here.
Does James want to show New Yorkers that she really stands for them? Then she should side with taxpayers and tell lawmakers to forget about this bailout.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
