Democrat NY Attorney General Letitia James blasted for disastrous gaffes while debating young GOP upstart

New York Attorney General Letitia James was slammed as a ‘political hack’ by a young GOP upstart as she struggled through a debate. 

The Democrat, 67, was blasted by her Republican opponent, Saritha Komatireddy, 42, a longtime federal prosecutor making her first run for political office, at a debate on Thursday night. 

‘New Yorkers, you do not have an attorney general right now,’ Komatireddy said. ‘For the last eight years, you’ve had a political hack sitting in the chair using our taxpayer money for her political purposes.’ 

With less than a month until voters head to the polls on November 3, the debate grew hostile as James labeled her opponent a ‘Trump puppet’ while Komatireddy blamed the Democrat for failing to clamp down on crime in the Big Apple. 

‘The laws are broken and Letitia James broke them,’ she said, citing James’s support for soft-on-crime ‘catch and release’ bail laws. 

An awkward moment also unfolded when James was asked which past New York Attorneys General she admires, to which she hesitated for over 10 seconds before Komatireddy interjected: ‘She only admires herself.’ 

The debate comes as James has landed in the public spotlight in recent weeks, following her appointment as special prosecutor in the case of a Cornell student who claims she was gang raped by seven fraternity brothers. 

James was appointed to the role by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, but the move sparked backlash because James had already publicly declared her support for the accuser before launching her investigation. 

James had previously issued a statement in late September before being appointed as special prosecutor, where she said: ‘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.’

When the issue of James’s impartiality was raised at Thursday night’s debate, James said her remarks were not evidence of bias or a presumption of guilt on her part, but merely to ‘demonstrate empathy.’

‘What we need now more than ever in our body politics is more empathy,’ she said.

‘(Hochul) is requesting an unbiased investigation and a thorough investigation, and we will do that, based on the facts and based on the evidence.’

Komatireddy attacked James for her handling of the case, saying she ‘has certainly never prosecuted a sexual assault case, and she has already screwed this one up by prejudging it.’

The young Republican has attempted to portray herself as a hardline, anti-crime crusader, and she made her campaign slogan: ‘Just fight crime.’

At Thursday night’s debate, Komatireddy laid into James for crime across New York, including slating her for supporting catch-and-release laws that prevent judges from setting bail in many cases. 

She blamed these rules for the death of an NYPD officer who was stabbed by two undocumented migrants who had been released despite criminal records.

Komatireddy also criticized James for only seizing just 10,000 illegal guns in New York over her eight years in office, which she said was ‘pathetic.’ ‘New Jersey seized 16,000 guns in one year,’ she said.  

Komatireddy, a former Assistant US Attorney in the Eastern District of New York, said she would fix the issue by letting judges consider the ‘dangerousness’ of a criminal when deciding whether to grant them bail. 

She said: ‘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.’ 

When James was asked to defend the bail laws under her administration, she brushed over the question and tied Komatireddy’s attacks to President Donald Trump, who has endorsed the young Republican candidate.

‘All she wants to do is prosecute individuals and institutionalize [them]. No compassion. No understanding of the issues,’ James said, to which Komatireddy added: ‘Just to be clear, she won’t change the bail laws.’

‘You unfortunately have not said anything critical of this administration,’ James fired back. ‘And you won’t, because you are basically auditioning for another position.’ 

Komatireddy fired back that she had only ever met President Trump once and cited her work under former President Barack Obama, and said Trump endorsed her because ‘I have a great resume.’

Facing criticisms for her handling of prosecutions against Trump, James attempted to brush off the attacks as she argued that she followed the law in her approach. 

‘Politics stops at the door in my office,’ she said, a remark that drew a laugh from Komatireddy.