Attorney General Bonta, 20 Attorneys General Issue Open Letter Responding to Trump Administration’s Retribution Campaign Against New York Attorney General Letitia James

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, alongside 20 other attorneys general, issued an open letter responding to the Trump Administration’s campaign of retribution against New York Attorney General Letitia James:

"As lawyers, public servants, and defenders of the rule of law, we are deeply alarmed by the efforts of the U.S. Department of Justice to engage the machinery of criminal law enforcement in a campaign of intimidation against New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The Department is pursuing a pattern of harassment and intimidation against AG James in retaliation for her having pursued legitimate claims of financial fraud against President Trump and his business organization under New York state law. A state attorney general has an undeniable ethical duty and professional responsibility to seek justice, even when it involves bringing claims against the powerful.

As retribution against AG James for discharging such a responsibility, the Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation against AG James helmed by Edward R. Martin Jr., director of the Department’s absurdly named “Weaponization Working Group.” Upon being named to lead the investigation, Mr. Martin publicly vowed that he would “stick the landing,” suggesting a preordained outcome. Last week, Mr. Martin dashed off a crude letter to AG James’s personal attorney suggesting AG James should resign from office “as an act of good faith.” A few days later, he appeared at the doorstep of AG James’s home in Brooklyn, New York, posing for press photographs. Mr. Martin’s antics and actions amount more to those of a showman than to those of a representative of the United States government charged with ensuring that impartiality, integrity, and fairness are the cornerstones of criminal investigation and enforcement. 

Every aspect of the Department’s campaign against AG James makes plain that it is not rooted in any legitimate suspicion of wrongdoing: President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi are both on record having made public threats against AG James. A sensitive investigation against a state official would normally be entrusted to an impartial and responsible prosecutor, but in this case the Department tapped Mr. Martin, a political operative with no practical experience as a prosecutor and no regard for the norms of the profession. In the face of Mr. Martin’s escalating antics and threats, the Department has only confirmed its continued support for his efforts.

As the attorneys general and chief legal officers of our respective states, we know that the people rely on prosecutorial authorities to wield the power of government to protect the public interest, without fear or favor. Deploying the power of the government in pursuit of personal vendettas, to achieve political ends, or to thwart the enforcement of state law is an abuse of that trust. 

We call on the Department of Justice to cease its attacks on AG James and other political targets. And we call on others in power to stand up against the Department’s abuses. The wheels of justice must never become a tool of political and personal retribution."

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin in signing the letter.  

A copy of the letter is available here.