by Andi Shae Napier
Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James will headline a rally on Monday for Democratic New York City mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, marking her first public appearance following her federal indictment.
The indictment against James, unsealed on Thursday, centers around allegations of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, which she claimed were “baseless charges.” Mamdani’s rally, titled “Our Time Has Come,” will launch the campaign’s call for constituents to get out and vote ahead of the Nov. 4 general election.
“In front of thousands of New Yorkers, the campaign will say goodbye to the broken, billionaire-funded status quo and build a future politics where everyone can afford to live a dignified life,” Dora Pekec, a spokeswoman for Mamdani, said.
Mamdani, a fierce supporter of James, held a news conference Friday morning following James’ indictment, where he condemned the announcement and led “Hands Off Tish” chants.
“We say to Donald Trump that if you want to get to the attorney general, you are going to have to get through every single one of us,” Mr. Mamdani said on Friday.
A Quinnipiac poll released last week showed that Mamdani’s lead in the New York Mayoral Race is shrinking. The poll reported that Mamdani now leads Andrew Cuomo by 13 points. Cuomo’s increased support comes after Mayor Eric Adams announced he would be dropping out of the mayoral race. When Adams, Cuomo, and Mamdani were in the race, Mamdani led by 22 points last month.
The new poll also found that 62 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 34 are supporting Mamdani, along with 60 percent of people between the ages of 35 and 49.
David Laska, communications director for the New York GOP, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that as the Middle East peace deal unfolds, now-indicted James stands with “someone who supported Hamas.”
“While the rest of the world is celebrating the release of the final hostages and the cessation of hostilities, Letitia James is standing shoulder to shoulder with someone who supported Hamas,” Laska said. “She has proven time and again that she is utterly unfit for office. If she had an ounce of integrity, she would be stepping aside from her AG duties while she awaits trial on bank fraud.”
James and Mamdani’s offices did not respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
James’ indictment surrounds a loan she acquired for a three-bedroom home in Norfolk, Virginia, in which she was required to use the property as her secondary residence; the loan prohibited the property from being used as a timeshare or rental.
“Despite these representations, the Peronne Property was not occupied or used by JAMES as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of (3),” the indictment states.
In April, the Federal Housing Agency referred James to the Department of Justice for allegedly falsifying mortgage documents.
James has raised approximately $1 million since her indictment announcement, with 79% of the funds coming from new donors, according to the New York Times. Following the indictment, the attorney general reportedly had conversations with New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — both of whom have yet to endorse Mamdani despite mounting calls from the Democratic lawmakers to do so.
If convicted, James faces up to 30 years in prison per count and up to $1 million fine for each count, and forfeiture.
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Andi Shae Napier is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
Photo “Letitia James” by Letitia James. Photo “Zohran Mamdani” by Zohran Mamdani.
The post Indicted Letitia James to Rally for Socialist Days After Bank Fraud Charges first appeared on The Arizona Sun Times.