Komatireddy releases mock 52-count 'indictment' of AG Letitia James ahead of debate

Right · 2Republican attorney general candidate Saritha Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor, released a mock 52-count "public indictment" of Democratic incumbent Letitia James on Thursday 8 October, ahead of their debate that night. 1 2 Right · 2The document accuses James of dereliction of duty, saying she focused on fights with President Trump rather than on mentally ill people on the streets, repeat offenders, hate crimes and fraud. 2 1 Right · 1According to the New York Post, the counts include failing to intervene as New Yorkers froze to death last winter, supporting cashless bail, not aggressively prosecuting Medicaid and welfare fraud, and not pressing to close the "involuntary intoxication loophole" in state rape law, and it names more than three dozen victims of violent recidivists or mentally ill people. 1

Right · 2Komatireddy wrote that James had eight legislative sessions and a Legislature led by her own party to change the intoxication law, but "Beyond one social media post, the People have found no evidence that she made the bill a priority." 2 1 Right · 1As relief, the document asks voters to remove James on 3 November and proposes an Office of Civil Commitment under the attorney general, staffed by law enforcement professionals and doctors, to deal with mentally unstable people on the streets. 1 Right · 2A James campaign spokesperson dismissed it as a campaign stunt, saying James "files real lawsuits in real courts every day" and that, while Komatireddy wrote her press release, James announced the arrest and indictment of a Queens pharmacy owner over $31 million in Medicaid fraud. 1 2

Right · 1Komatireddy spokeswoman Nicole Kiprilov replied that James's tenure has been "one long political campaign stunt", claiming crime rose 26%, homelessness rose 38% and New York ranks last in prosecuting Medicaid fraud; these figures are the campaign's claims and the articles do not verify them. 2 Right · 2A Siena University poll last month had James leading Komatireddy 52% to 39%, a lead that narrowed by five points from August; the debate, hosted by Spectrum, is their first televised debate of the general election. 1 2 Right · 2James, 67, is seeking a third term and is known for her civil fraud case against Trump and a probe of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo that preceded his 2021 resignation; Komatireddy, 42, prosecuted terrorism, cybercrime, narcotics and corruption cases in Brooklyn's Eastern District. 1 2