Democratic mayoral nominee and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani rallied in Foley Sq. with girls elected officers to blast President Trump’s Justice Division for indicting state Lawyer Common Letitia James. Friday, Oct. 10, 2025.
Photograph by Lloyd Mitchell
A gaggle of a few of New York’s most influential feminine elected officers joined Democratic mayoral nominee and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani on Friday to slam President Trump’s Justice Division for indicting state Lawyer Common Letitia James.
Mamdani, a democratic socialist Queens Meeting member, gathered on Oct. 10 with fellow Democratic pols, together with Rep. Nydia Velázquez (Brooklyn/Queens), Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, and Brooklyn Democratic Celebration Chair Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn in Manhattan’s Foley Sq. to denounce James’ indictment.
Trump’s Justice Division hit New York’s AG, considered one of his long-time enemies, with financial institution fraud and false assertion costs within the Japanese District of Virginia late Thursday afternoon. James herself known as the case a “desperate weaponization of our justice system” and “baseless.”
James drew Trump’s ire after her workplace efficiently gained a civil fraud case in opposition to him and his household final yr. She has additionally launched or participated in quite a few federal lawsuits looking for to dam Trump administration actions that may, amongst different issues, get rid of rights to gender-affirming care, defund state authorities and deport immigrants with momentary protected standing.
‘An act of political retribution’
Throughout the occasion, Mamdani assailed the indictment as a “blatant miscarriage of justice” and an “act of political retribution.” He was referring to the fees being introduced by a federal prosecutor handpicked by Trump after different DOJ attorneys refused to log off on them, and the president issued a collection of public statements on his want for James to be indicted.
The Democratic nominee charged that as a substitute of Trump delivering on considered one of his core marketing campaign guarantees in final yr’s presidential election, to convey prices down, the president has as a substitute centered on retribution in opposition to his political foes.
“He has focused all of his time and energy on punishment and cruelty,” Mamdani mentioned of Trump. “Punishing his political enemies. A prosecution of Tish James, we have to understand, does not just occur in a vacuum. It occurs within a context of the weaponization of our justice system, an attack on our democracy, and the result of a broken political system that empowers lawless billionaires to rule alongside corrupt politicians.”
Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani rallies with girls elected officers in opposition to President Trump’s Justice Division indicting state Lawyer Common Letitia James. Friday, Oct. 10, 2025.Photograph by Lloyd Mitchell
The indictment alleges that James falsely listed a house she owns in Norfolk, VA, as a secondary residence on mortgage paperwork, whereas utilizing it as a rental property as a substitute. The alleged misrepresentation saved James $19,000, the indictment says.
Velázquez mentioned the case has “no merit” and that its existence ought to “alarm every American who cares for our democracy.”
“This prosecution is part of a much larger authoritarian agenda that includes militarizing the National Guard, silencing free speech, and targeting political opponents,” Velázquez mentioned. “We have to stand up to this. Tish James stood up. And now we must stand with her.”
Difficult Cuomo’s response to James indictment
Nonetheless, Mamdani, together with the opposite pols current, alleged that one particular person is clearly not standing up for James: Andrew Cuomo.
They blasted the previous governor for issuing an announcement on Thursday night time that condemned the “politicization of law enforcement,” however notably didn’t point out James’ or Trump’s names. Cuomo and James have longstanding dangerous blood as she authored a 2021 report that discovered he sexually harassed a few dozen girls, accusations he denies.
Mamdani, who has alleged that Cuomo is coordinating with Trump with a purpose to win the mayoral race, requested, “If you cannot say Donald Trump’s name today, how will you stand up to him tomorrow?”
Speaker Adams, an in depth ally of James, praised Mamdani for convening the group of ladies lawmakers collectively to help the AG, whereas additionally calling out Cuomo.
“Andrew Cuomo, if you are too afraid to speak her name, let me give you a helping hand. Her name is Tish James,” the speaker mentioned. “She saw through you in the beginning, and she saw through you in the end. And at the end of both spectrums, Donald Trump is still pulling the strings in your vocal chords.”
In response, Cuomo issued a brand new assertion on Friday, together with each James’ and Trump’s names. He mentioned the weaponization of the justice system is “wrong when Trump’s DOJ does it or when a Democrat does it, and it must be universally condemned” — a line that could possibly be referencing the report James issued on Cuomo’s alleged sexual misconduct.
“I know firsthand as the White House weaponized the DOJ against me when I was governor of New York and three other democratic states during the height of COVID, and it’s wrong that it appears to be happening with AG James and former FBI Director Comey,” Cuomo mentioned, referring to the Trump DOJ’s current indictment of Comey. “It is part of why people have lost faith in the justice system, the cornerstone of our democracy.”
