Letitia James: Walking on Slippery Grounds
9 March 2024 By Abiodun Kareem Giwa
Letitia James
She barely missed becoming the New York State's first female attorney general. Barbara Underwood beats her to it. It is not a mean feat to be the state's AG being a steppingstone to the governor's office for some who have passed through the office. We remember Elliot Spitzer, Eric Schneiderman, and Andrew Cuomo. Schneiderman too should have made the governor's office. He dropped off the rail earlier than Spitzer and Cuomo.
The office looks like a House of Scandal derailing all three. But they were all fighters whom no one knew about the skeletons in their cupboards until things fell apart for them. Like Spitzer and Cuomo, James has a governorship plan after her first term before deciding to run for a second term.
Even though she has missed being the first female New York's AG, she is pursuing the first woman with a fighting spirit equal to Spitzer and Cuomo. However, it is yet to be determined if she will still run for governor to share her legacy with Spitzer and Cuomo. One thing is clear: she would not want to end like her three predecessors.
Toughness, destruction, and getting destroyed are real with New York's AG's office. Let us begin with Spitzer. He was a firebrand. He was famous for his exploits against the financial industry, where investment banks became his target. Brittanica reports show some industry watchers dismissed Spitzer's high-profile accusations as grandstanding. Others said his investigations were aggressive attempts to clean up an industry beset by corporate scandals. It lists labor rights, consumer protections, improper advertising, and identity theft as other issues Spitzer pursued. He also sought to punish corporate polluters and to reform the lax government regulators of such polluters. He met his Waterloo in the governor's office after an accusation of interaction with a prostitution ring as AG.
Andrew Cuomo's recent fall from the governor's office reminds us of the firebrand AG, 2007-2010, who fell from another AG's pursuit of a legacy of toughness. It reminds us of a case of a dangerous forest where more brutal animals devour others. The case of a lawyer and former AG losing track of the civility to protect himself from the law. Cuomo forgot an AG also exists in search of a legacy. He denied allegations of sexual harassment and pursued a case against James's office. Cuomo's achievements as a governor eclipsed his AG's record. His fall has scattered his achievements as AG and governor.
Schneiderman succeeded Cuomo as AG. Unlike Spitzer and Cuomo, he fell during his time as AG. He failed to aspire to the governor's office. The New Yorker described him as a long-time liberal Democratic champion of women's rights and a loud supporter of the Me-Too Movement against sexual harassment. He got Harvey Weinstein down, and compensation for affected Einstein allegedly abused. The rod of Damocles suddenly found him from women who alleged he abused them. What happened? Could a man be fighting for abused women with skeletons in his cupboard? If Schneiderman's sin had not found him early, he might have ridden the AG's position to be governor.
As slippery as the office is, the benefit is that it allows occupants to be first citizens of New York State. James has completed her first term in office as AG. People note her chosen path of war is entirely political - to get down former President Donald Trump. However, Cuomo, whom she investigated for sexual abuse, was her first victim. She made pursuing Trump a campaign speech. She has pursued the objective with all arsenals in her possession. The outcome shook the nation to its feet, with a court asking the Trump Organization to pay a fine of over $400m for an alleged fraud. She missed being the first NY female AG. But she has achieved some things people are discussing - the near destruction of Cuomo politically and the successful prosecution of the Trump Organization. People say if finishing Cuomo is non-political, the attempt to cancel the Trump Organization is.
Would James run for governor again? She dropped off her first bid in favor of the current officeholder. She has three more years as AG. Would karma pursue her like the other AGs? Some say she would have a different experience than her predecessors, while others say one can never tell because her predecessors never thought of any skeleton hidden behind them. Many are worried about her toughness and her political loudness.
The office looks like a House of Scandal derailing all three. But they were all fighters whom no one knew about the skeletons in their cupboards until things fell apart for them. Like Spitzer and Cuomo, James has a governorship plan after her first term before deciding to run for a second term.
Even though she has missed being the first female New York's AG, she is pursuing the first woman with a fighting spirit equal to Spitzer and Cuomo. However, it is yet to be determined if she will still run for governor to share her legacy with Spitzer and Cuomo. One thing is clear: she would not want to end like her three predecessors.
Toughness, destruction, and getting destroyed are real with New York's AG's office. Let us begin with Spitzer. He was a firebrand. He was famous for his exploits against the financial industry, where investment banks became his target. Brittanica reports show some industry watchers dismissed Spitzer's high-profile accusations as grandstanding. Others said his investigations were aggressive attempts to clean up an industry beset by corporate scandals. It lists labor rights, consumer protections, improper advertising, and identity theft as other issues Spitzer pursued. He also sought to punish corporate polluters and to reform the lax government regulators of such polluters. He met his Waterloo in the governor's office after an accusation of interaction with a prostitution ring as AG.
Andrew Cuomo's recent fall from the governor's office reminds us of the firebrand AG, 2007-2010, who fell from another AG's pursuit of a legacy of toughness. It reminds us of a case of a dangerous forest where more brutal animals devour others. The case of a lawyer and former AG losing track of the civility to protect himself from the law. Cuomo forgot an AG also exists in search of a legacy. He denied allegations of sexual harassment and pursued a case against James's office. Cuomo's achievements as a governor eclipsed his AG's record. His fall has scattered his achievements as AG and governor.
Schneiderman succeeded Cuomo as AG. Unlike Spitzer and Cuomo, he fell during his time as AG. He failed to aspire to the governor's office. The New Yorker described him as a long-time liberal Democratic champion of women's rights and a loud supporter of the Me-Too Movement against sexual harassment. He got Harvey Weinstein down, and compensation for affected Einstein allegedly abused. The rod of Damocles suddenly found him from women who alleged he abused them. What happened? Could a man be fighting for abused women with skeletons in his cupboard? If Schneiderman's sin had not found him early, he might have ridden the AG's position to be governor.
As slippery as the office is, the benefit is that it allows occupants to be first citizens of New York State. James has completed her first term in office as AG. People note her chosen path of war is entirely political - to get down former President Donald Trump. However, Cuomo, whom she investigated for sexual abuse, was her first victim. She made pursuing Trump a campaign speech. She has pursued the objective with all arsenals in her possession. The outcome shook the nation to its feet, with a court asking the Trump Organization to pay a fine of over $400m for an alleged fraud. She missed being the first NY female AG. But she has achieved some things people are discussing - the near destruction of Cuomo politically and the successful prosecution of the Trump Organization. People say if finishing Cuomo is non-political, the attempt to cancel the Trump Organization is.
Would James run for governor again? She dropped off her first bid in favor of the current officeholder. She has three more years as AG. Would karma pursue her like the other AGs? Some say she would have a different experience than her predecessors, while others say one can never tell because her predecessors never thought of any skeleton hidden behind them. Many are worried about her toughness and her political loudness.
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