The Trump administration sent a criminal referral letter to the Justice Department concerning New York State Attorney General Letitia "Tish" James. It centers around potential criminal fraud charges to be pursued against New York's top prosecutor.
The issue: James allegedly claimed in loan documents that a home in Virginia is her residence, while she is a registered voter in New York State and holding public office as a New York resident.
Loan documents allegedly also contain claims that James stated her father was her husband.
At "best" it could lead to a resignation since James claims she is not a New York State resident. At "worst" the Justice Department could file criminal charges against James for fraud.
To break down this political and criminal bombshell the South Shore Press spoke to New York State Conservative Chairman Gerard Kassar.
South Shore Press News Director Stefan Mychajliw: The saying from New York State Attorney General Tish James: "No one is above the law." And how ironic, Chairman, now it applies to her. What are your thoughts on these potential criminal charges when it comes to the State Attorney General?
NYS Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar: She's in a lose-lose situation. Either she's a resident of Virginia or she has committed a significant financial fraud with an actual financial benefit to her. I'm not sure why she would have been so foolish. I can't imagine that she didn't know. She's an attorney and the Attorney General. Ignorance is never a defense, but in her case, it's also an indictment, claiming ignorance. She's either made herself disqualified to be Attorney General, or she has a potential financial crime against her, or she has both.
Mychajliw: Let's go through exactly what this criminal referral from President Trump. That she and her father allegedly had signed bank documents saying he was her husband and they applied for a loan. She was also claiming that an out-of-state residence was her permanent residence, which, of course, would disqualifiy her as New York State Attorney General. So for someone who is in charge of being the top prosecutor in New York, can you just believe that she would engage in this kind of behavior?
Kassar: No, I can't. She's the biggest hypocrite. It's two-potential violations, each of which could cause her to have to resign as Attorney General, which I would recommend she start thinking very seriously about, or actually have a criminal indictment. Her office responded with a very generalized statement that didn't really deny anything. All it really talked about was how good an Attorney General she's been. If their office could not come up with a legitimate response, something that actually argued that those who believe this is true are wrong, then I have to believe there's this smoking gun has fired.
Mychajliw: You and I have been around the block a long time in the world of politics. And oftentimes, when politicians respond to a crisis, when they don't say anything, they're saying everything. I have that statement in front of me, verbatim:
"Attorney General James is focused on every single day on protecting New Yorkers, especially as this Administration weaponizes the federal government against the rule of law in the Constitution."
Chairman, don't you think if the charges themselves or the allegations themselves, she can say, nope, wrong, here's the proof, they would have done that?
Kassar: That's exactly what they would have done. I find it ironic, she talks about the weaponization of governments, and she's one of the original weaponizers of the Office of Attorney General. She has used this office for political gain against her enemies.
Mychajliw: Down the road, don't you think the path is leading for her towards resignation?
Kassar: I see there's no option of resignation, which I think is rightful and would benefit the taxpayers sooner than later. We need an Attorney General, Stefan, that is honest. In the event that she tries to hold on, I can't see what path she would have to re-election, I would think the Democrats themselves would take her out in a primary. Because it looks as though, based on the criminal referral, that one of two things happened. She's either a resident of a different state, or, as the Trump administration claims, she basically committed fraud.
Those are two very bad paths. Even being the resident of a different state, she's obviously got some documents indicate she's a registered voter in New York State, so she's lying on something. She is begging for an investigation. It would be almost inappropriate if the Trump administration had not referred this for an investigation and potential indictment. This is the doings of a foolish individual holding one of the highest officers of New York State who should have known better.