A veteran prosecutor in state Attorney General Letitia James’ office claims he was ordered to dig up dirt on people and groups “affiliated with Donald Trump,” according to a bombshell report.
Daniel Wiesenfeld, a former Brooklyn prosecutor who now works in James’ Investor Protection Bureau, said his boss instructed him “to find and pursue crimes” committed by Trump allies, according to a since-deleted email obtained by the Times-Union.
Wiesenfeld alleged in his email that Bureau Chief Shamiso Maswoswe specifically directed him to target “Trump himself, Truth Social, Hewlett Packard (DOJ approved merger)… without having a credible reason for targeting the organizations and individuals,” the outlet reported.
The feds recently approved a $14 billion merger between Hewlett-Packard and Juniper Networks.
“If you believe Trump is using the [Department of Justice] attorneys to prosecute his enemies and further his political interests, you should find it equally troubling that Tish [James] is doing exactly the same thing,” Wiesenfeld allegedly wrote in the message, which went to some 2,000 staffers before being yanked.
“I ask you that you not serve as Tish’s personal attorneys by targeting her political enemies,” he allegedly wrote. “Instead, I hope you choose to prosecute crimes and find the individuals accountable, rather than targeting individuals and then finding crimes.”
Weisenfeld asked that colleagues focus on prosecuting “rampant nonprofit homeless shelter fraud and antisemitic crimes in and around synagogues,” and accused James of wasting “significant public taxpayer dollars to target convenient public enemies,” Times-Union reported.
Trump and James are bitter, long-standing adversaries.
During her 2018 campaign, James vowed to “prosecute the president for crimes committed in New York state” if she was elected — and kept her word after taking over the office.
In 2024, the AG’s office won a $360 million civil case against Trump, his sons and his former company for overstating Big Apple property values and lying about his wealth — a case later upheld on appeal but without the massive financial payout.
Trump has cited the case as just one example of James’ attempts to target him unfairly.
Meanwhile, Weisenfeld was placed on paid administrative leave, with a rep for James calling the controversy “a personal matter” in a statement to Times-Union.
“The office of the attorney general is committed to upholding New York’s laws and protecting the rights and freedoms of all New Yorkers, regardless of political beliefs,” the statement said. “We strongly reject any assertion to the contrary.”
However, state GOP leaders slammed James over the leaked email’s claims.
“Letitia James weaponized the attorney general’s office into a political hit squad and then tried to cover up her tracks,” state Republican Chairman Ed Cox told The Post on Sunday. “She is utterly unfit to serve.
“New Yorkers deserve an attorney general who prosecutes criminals, preserves public records and enforces the law without fear or favor,” Cox added.
