Watch: Letitia James Goes Silent for 10 Seconds When Asked Simple Debate Question - Then Opponent Drives Home the Dagger
New York Attorney General Letitia James suffered a decisive defeat Thursday night in a debate against Republican challenger Saritha Komatireddy.
There were multiple embarrassing moments for the incumbent, including when a moderator asked, “Name a past New York attorney general that you admire.”
There was about a 10-second awkward pause while James contemplated the question, prompting Komatireddy to chime in, “She only admires herself.”
“No, no, no, we admire others,” James replied.
What “we” is she talking about? The royal we?
Finally, she answered, “I admire all of the past attorneys general because it’s a difficult job and you’ve got to stand up.”
That’s the best she could come up with?
It’s understandable why she might not want to name the last three elected officeholders to the position: Eliot Spitzer, Andrew Cuomo, and Eric Schneiderman.
Spitzer was caught up in an alleged prostitution scandal as governor, Cuomo resigned as governor following an investigation into sexual harassment allegations, and Schneiderman stepped down as attorney general after being accused of physical abuse against women.
So she admires them, too?
Name one former New York Attorney General you admire.
Letitia James: 🦗🦗🦗 https://t.co/ab8SqvPgFZ
— Saritha Komatireddy (@sarithaforny) October 9, 2026
By contrast, Komatireddy had a ready answer. “Dennis Vacco,” she said, referring to the last Republican to serve as a New York attorney general.
“At a time when New York State needed it, we had another former federal prosecutor become attorney general and bring law and order,” the candidate argued.
But that was not the only troublesome moment for James.
At another point during the debate, when the topic was alleged misconduct involving prediction markets, “Komatireddy said she would examine the facts and the law to determine whether an investigation or prosecution was warranted,” according to Townhall.
But James pronounced, “You don’t have to look at the facts and the law. All you have to do is study what they do. It’s illegal in the state of New York.”
Komatireddy fired back, “There you go. You don’t have to look at the facts and the law, gentlemen. Your attorney general.”
Leticia James is a complete disaster as Attorney General.
In one of the biggest Freudian slips, she actually told the truth about how she has operated as Attorney General — she doesn’t look at the facts or the law and pre-judges cases based entirely on politics.
— Mike Lawler (@lawler4ny) October 9, 2026
Her prosecutorial method sounds like something right out of Soviet police chief Lavrentiy Beria’s playbook. He reputedly said to Joseph Stalin, “Show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.”
In other words, he could find a crime for any political opponent of the regime.
That is, in fact, what James promised when she ran for attorney general in 2018, saying she was going to take down Donald Trump, whom she described as “this illegitimate president,” without offering any laws he had broken. She was going to find the crime.
As attorney general, James began an investigation into Trump during his first term, which culminated in civil fraud charges being brought in 2022 after he left office and was preparing to run for a second term.
In a non-jury trial, New York Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that Trump and other defendants misrepresented the worth of the Trump Organization properties and imposed $450 million in fines. An appeals court later completely voided the financial judgment in a win for Trump.
Just last week, James did not directly respond when a reporter asked about the appropriateness of her being assigned as special prosecutor in the Cornell University case involving rape allegations from 2024.
The reporter pointed to a social media post in which James wrote just days before, “What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. I’m holding her in my heart and in my prayers. To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you.”
What this young woman has been forced to endure is horrific and unacceptable. I’m holding her in my heart and in my prayers.
To her, and to all survivors: you’re not alone. We stand with you.
https://t.co/az4ViQwgy1— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) September 28, 2026
“Why did you affirm her allegations as fact without doing your own fact-finding investigation?” he asked.
James responded, “I will not comment on a Facebook post.”
She should, because it happens to reveal her frame of mind going into the investigation.
Komatireddy summarized James’ tenure correctly when she said during Thursday’s debate, “New Yorkers, you do not have an attorney general right now. For the last eight years, you’ve had a political hack sitting in the chair, using our taxpayer money for her political purposes.”
And it’s time for her to go.
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