If the state attorney general\u2019s job were to stage nonstop flashy political stunts appealing purely to her party\u2019s base, Letitia James would rank New York\u2019s best ever, hands down.<\/p>\n
Yet that\u2019s not the job, and James\u2019 myopic focus on politics<\/a> ill-serves her actual duties and the people of New York State.<\/p>\n Consider: Since taking office, James has filed endless legal motions and issued literally hundreds of press releases focused exclusively on attacking President Donald Trump<\/a> or blocking his agenda.<\/p>\n This month alone, her office sent out a dozen releases (three a week!) blasting Trump \u2014 on commercial driver\u2019s licenses, gun rights, mail-in voting, Title X funds, immigration enforcement and more.<\/p>\n Most of her legal actions aim to weaponize the courts against Trump policies, while her core duties go neglected.<\/p>\n James doesn\u2019t care, because even her many court losses let her grab headlines and score points with the left.<\/p>\n Nor does the AG limit herself to Trump\u2019s politics: She actually tried to bankrupt him personally with her meritless civil case<\/a> accusing him of defrauding banks; that led to an insane fine of nearly half a billion dollars from a blatantly biased judge \u2014 which was soon tossed<\/a> by a higher court, making the whole thing a purely symbolic persecution that probably helped him win the 2024 race.<\/p>\n \t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPost Editorial Board<\/p>\n In more headline-hunting, she regularly joins other blue-state AGs in high-profile suits against things like the Paramount-Warner Bros.<\/a> merger, a pointless waste of her office\u2019s resources. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, James has (purposely?) neglected her official duties, most notably, policing Medicaid fraud<\/a>.<\/p>\n In July, the Empire Center ranked New York<\/a> the second worst in the country for prosecuting Medicaid crooks, who swipe billions from taxpayers and weaken the system for those who truly need aid.<\/p>\n The state ranks dead last among all 50 states (and DC) for Medicaid fraud indictments and convictions per billion spent.<\/p>\n That\u2019s outrageously irresponsible<\/a>, when New York shells out $124 billion on the program. <\/p>\n Indeed, it\u2019s prompted the feds, who pony up for a major share of Medicaid costs, to threaten to freeze funding for New York\u2019s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which James oversees.<\/p>\n Despite billions at stake and \u201cmillions of people expecting safe care for their families,\u201d New York\u2019s MFCU has been \u201cineffective in fighting criminal cases\u201d involving Medicaid fraud, abuse or neglect, blasted Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General Thomas March Bell.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n She\u2019s also been MIA when it comes to fighting crime, despite her role as the state\u2019s top law-enforcement officer.<\/p>\n In 2022, the Detectives\u2019 Endowment Association, which generally remains silent on AG candidates, urged voters to ditch James<\/a> for failing to make \u201cpublic safety a priority\u201d \u2014 and for, instead, suing the NYPD for supposedly mishandling the Floyd riots.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n And who can forget one of her most embarrassing moments \u2014 when she tried to horn in on City Councilman Chi Oss\u00e9 theatrical bid to block an eviction he claimed stemmed from \u201cdeed theft\u201d?<\/p>\n