Press Statement  AG Campbell Issues Joint Statement Condemning Retaliatory Prosecution Of New York State Attorney General Letitia James

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in issuing the following statement condemning the Trump Administration’s retaliatory prosecution of New York Attorney General Letitia James: 

“We resoundingly denounce the Trump administration’s retaliatory prosecution of our colleague, New York Attorney General Letitia James. 

Since a New York State judge found Donald Trump liable for years of business fraud and illegal dealings in a case led by Attorney General James, Mr. Trump has repeatedly broadcast his desire to arrest and prosecute her. Mr. Trump has now done just that—demanding an indictment of Attorney General James even though the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Erik Siebert resigned rather than seeking an indictment. 

None of us, whether our states’ top legal officials or members of the public, should stand idly by while justice is upended and this president uses the criminal legal system to pursue his personal vendettas. The Trump-directed arms of the executive branch have arrested a sitting member of Congress, charged the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and criminally investigated a governor of the Federal Reserve, among other retaliatory and politically motivated pursuits. These kinds of prosecutorial abuses are the hallmarks of police states and authoritarian regimes—not America’s democracy. 

We stand in solidarity with Attorney General James and others who have been targeted for reasons wholly antithetical to the pursuit of justice. We commit to doing all we can to ensure that the rule of law prevails and to resist the further corrosion of our system of justice.” 

Joining AG Campbell in issuing this statement are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.