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By Eric Schmitt
Missouri Attorney General
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While blue states and blue cities are being ravaged by violent crime, many of the law enforcement arms the public counts on to keep it safe have been consumed with political investigations. It's no wonder people are fleeing these so-called "enlightened" parts of the country, because those elected to protect and lead those states and communities from violent crime act like violent crime does not exist.
Letitia James, the New York attorney general, is a poster child for focusing on personal vendettas at the expense of the rule of law. With her never-ending political claims about President Donald Trump and the Trump family, James is weaponizing investigations—and the people of New York are facing the consequences.
While James has been blinded by her zealous attacks on President Trump, crime in New York City is up 36.5% compared to the same time last year, according to news reports on statistics recently released by the New York Police Department.
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Last summer, I called out New York Attorney General Letitia James' weaponization of investigations and shredding of the rule of the law in order to target President Donald Trump. Since that time, addressing rising violent crime, such as the recent tragic shootings on a New York subway train, has not distracted her from her mission of making a mockery of the law and our Constitution.
Attorneys general, and all those charged with enforcing the law, have a special responsibility to follow the rule of law and recognize that our Constitution is a guardrail intended to prevent public officials with law enforcement powers from abusing offices that are trusted with protecting the law. Letitia James' Trump Derangement Syndrome does not give her the power to push for the political prosecution of President Trump.
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One of the sacred tasks for those of us given the honor of serving as attorneys general is public safety. Letitia James is failing in this task and sending a message that violent crime is not a priority, while she pursues her personal case against President Trump.
When those charged to stand up for the rule of law fail in their job, the message is received and criminals engage in more violent acts against our communities. James' pursuit of daily headlines about her Trump investigations is clearly more important to her than taking action to eliminate daily headlines of violent crime in her state.
Time and again, we have seen the Left's false attacks against President Trump unravel once all the facts come out. But their obsession with him is not going away, and they have repeatedly shown their willingness to exploit any office they have to in order to chase the next imaginary crime.
We have systems in place to hold those accountable when they break the law. James is now turning this system on its head; in her mind, she has already charged President Trump with imaginary criminal acts. The problem is President Trump has not broken the law, and she is searching for anything she can use to advance her vindictive vendetta against him and his family.
Lady Justice wears a blindfold for a very important reason. We are all to be treated fairly in the eyes of the law, regardless of the political jersey we choose to wear. We must call out people like Letitia James, who are making a mockery of our country's legal processes—especially when those actions are making the citizens those officers have sworn to protect and serve less safe.
Eric Schmitt is Missouri's attorney general.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
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