CNN star Anderson Cooper took a shot at newly-indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James Thursday, saying her previous vow on the campaign trail to zero in on President Trump was “not a great look” — as the Dem pol now cries that the charges against her are “political retribution.”
Cooper brought up James’ conversation with a community activist who asked in 2018 if James was ready to sue the president — then in his first term in the Oval Office — as she ran to be the state’s chief law enforcement position.
“And she replied, ‘oh we’re gonna definitely sue him, we’re gonna be a real pain in the ass, he’s gonna know my name personally,’” Cooper recalled.
“I mean that’s not a great look for somebody who has just been elected, who just been campaigning, who hasn’t even looked, I guess deeply, at any evidence,” the host stated, though PolitiFact cites the video likely was shot while she was still on the campaign trail.
James went on to sue the Trump Organization on claims the company inflated the value of the real estate empire, leading to a judgment against the president and hundreds of millions in fines.
The $355 million in penalties was thrown out by a higher court in August after Trump successfully appealed the case. James is appealing that decision.
The court, however, upheld the finding that he exaggerated his net worth for years.
The Democrat also sued the Trump administration numerous times during his first stint as president and has continued to ramp up legal pressure against the White House since his return to office this year.
Meanwhile, James, who was federally indicted on charges of bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution in Virginia Thursday, claims the charges against her are pure politics.
She has denied wrongdoing.
“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,” James said.
CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin pushed back on Cooper’s argument, noting that attorney general hopefuls are required to run for office by “making political statements.”
“It’s not pretty, I don’t think it’s a great system, but there’s nothing uncommon about it,” he said.
“The other point to make, though, is just because she made inappropriate comments, that doesn’t mean she should get indicted for fraud years later.”
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