Governor Kathy Hochul set up $10M taxpayer fund to pay for New York Attorney General Letitia James’ legal fees stemming from her mortgage fraud indictment.
The New York governor was able to include the money as a state budget provision.
Critics, including Republican lawmakers, are blasting the fund as a blatant slush fund engineered by Hochul to protect her political ally from accountability.
The indictment against James stems from accusations that she falsified information on a loan application to secure favorable mortgage terms for a second home.
If convicted on the charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, James could face up to 30 years in prison per count and fines of up to $1 million each.
Legal experts estimate her defense could easily run into the millions, putting the spotlight on the line item in New York’s 2025 budget.
Here’s the breakdown:
Tucked into the state budget signed by Hochul earlier this year, the $10 million allocation covers “services and expenses relating to costs of outside legal services” for state officials facing investigations tied to their duties.
While not naming James explicitly, the timing – amid growing scrutiny from the incoming Trump administration’s DOJ – has fueled accusations of preemptive protection.
This fund draws directly from New Yorkers’ tax dollars, at a time when the state is struggling with budget deficits and residents are leaving the state because of high costs.
Hochul, already under fire as one of the nation’s least popular governors, has defended the budget as necessary for state operations.
One GOP critic claiming this isn’t governance – it’s a taxpayer-funded bailout for those who weaponize the law against their opponents, like James’ long pursuit of President Trump.
