Letitia Jamess GOP opponent for attorney general Saritha Komatireddy trounces in fiery NY AG debate
New York Attorney General Letitia James was ambushed by her well-prepared, locked-in GOP opponent, Saritha Komatireddy, who hammered the incumbent Dem over New York’s bail laws, the rise of antisemitism and massive amounts of Empire State medicaid fraud.While Komatireddy labeled James a “political hack” for her prosecution against President Trump, the Democrat had few answers to her opponents’ attacks besides repeatedly labeling her a “Trump puppet.”“The laws are broken and Letitia James broke them.She was the largest champion for having this catch-and-release system,” Komatireddy charged, blaming James for endorsing New York’s lax bail laws preventing judges from setting bail in many cases. She cited an NYPD officer recently stabbed ten times in the chest by two undocumented migrants with prior criminal records for weapons and burglary.Komatireddy said there’s an easy fix: giving judges discretion to consider the “dangerousness” of a defendant before considering whether to release them pending trial.“It doesn’t make sense.
This is a way forward without repealing the entire bail law.It’s just about having a common sense solution.
It has bipartisan support,” she said.James, asked to defend New York’s bail laws, ignored the question and plowed straight ahead into a response about tying Komatireddy to Trump.“My opponent unfortunately is supported by the president of these United States, which has cut funding to New York State mental health crisis [services].Has my opponent said anything? No,” James said.“All she wants to do is prosecute individuals and institutionalize [them].
No compassion.No understanding of the issues,” James said, before her opponent got the last word on the topic.“Just to be clear, she won’t change the bail laws,” Komatireddy interjected.She also went on the offensive, arguing that James prejudiced the sick Cornell University gang rape case by saying she stood with the victim prior to being name...