Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown and a coalition of 21 attorneys general issued a letter condemning the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation of New York Attorney General Letitia James, calling it politically motivated and urging the department to end what they view as an abuse of power.
Per the news release distributed on Friday, August 22: “Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today led a coalition of 21 attorneys general condemning the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation of New York State Attorney General Letitia James, calling it political retribution.
In an open letter released today, the coalition denounced what it described as a pattern of harassment and intimidation against Attorney General James, who pursued legal action against former President Donald Trump and his New York-based businesses, obtaining a judgment of hundreds of millions of dollars in a New York state court.
The coalition wrote, “As lawyers, public servants, and defenders of the rule of law, we are repulsed and alarmed by the efforts of the U.S. Department of Justice to engage the machinery of criminal law enforcement in a campaign of intimidation against our colleague, New York Attorney General Letitia James.”
The letter states that the criminal investigation recently launched by the Department against Attorney General James appears to be motivated by political and personal grudges rather than legitimate suspicion of wrongdoing. It highlights the actions of Edward R. Martin Jr., director of the Department’s “Weaponization Working Group,” who is leading the investigation.
The coalition argues that, “Martin’s antics and actions amount more to those of a showman than to those of a representative of the United States government charged with ensuring that impartiality, integrity, and fairness are the cornerstones of the Department of Justice.”
In conclusion, the coalition stated: “As the attorneys general and chief legal officers of our respective states, we know that the people rely on prosecutorial authorities to wield the power of government to protect the public interest, without fear or favor. Deploying the power of the government in pursuit of personal vendettas, to achieve political ends, or to thwart the enforcement of state law is an abuse of that trust. We call on the Department of Justice to cease its attacks on AG James and other political targets. And we call on others in power to stand up against the Department’s abuses. The wheels of justice must never become a tool of political and personal retribution.”
In issuing the letter, Attorney General Brown was joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The full letter can be found at www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov.”
