{"id":2653733,"date":"2026-09-02T17:22:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T21:22:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-interviews-letitia-james-aide-over-alleged-trump-targeting\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T17:26:01","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T21:26:01","slug":"doj-interviews-letitia-james-aide-over-alleged-trump-targeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-interviews-letitia-james-aide-over-alleged-trump-targeting\/","title":{"rendered":"DOJ interviews Letitia James aide over alleged Trump targeting"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdoj-interviews-letitia-james-aide-over-alleged-trump-targeting%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2653733&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Federal investigators interviewed a whistleblower from new York Attorney General Letitia james\u2019s office, Daniel Wiesenfeld, who alleges that staff were directed to target former President Donald Trump and his associates, including Trump himself, without credible reasons. Wiesenfeld, now on paid leave, claimed that James\u2019s office instructed him to pursue crimes related to Trump and affiliates like truth Social and Hewlett Packard, which he argued was politically motivated.He criticized this approach, urging colleagues to focus on prosecuting actual crimes rather than targeting individuals for political reasons. The email containing Wiesenfeld\u2019s allegations was quickly deleted, and his office described the incident as an internal personnel matter, placing him on administrative leave with pay. The controversy stems from ongoing conflicts between James and Trump, with James having previously secured a civil fraud judgment against Trump that was later upheld without penalties. Trump has accused James of weaponizing her office, while James has alleged political retaliation from his governance. The inquiry is part of broader legal and political tensions involving both parties.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal investigators interviewed a whistleblower from the office of New York Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/letitia-james\/\">Letitia James<\/a> (D) for several hours on Tuesday after he alleged that staff were directed to target President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump<\/a> and his associates, according to a source familiar with the interview.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Daniel Wiesenfeld, an assistant attorney general now on paid administrative leave, met with criminal and civil attorneys from the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fbi\/\">FBI<\/a> and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/department-of-justice\/\">Justice Department<\/a>, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. The scope of the federal interest and whether investigators have opened a formal investigation are unclear.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4710509\/federal-investigators-interviewed-letitia-james-whistleblower-trump-targeting\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Federal investigators interviewed Letitia James whistleblower who said she ordered staff to target \u2018Trump himself\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4710017\/google-antitrust-breakup-win-doj\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Judge allows Google to avoid breakup in win against DOJ<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4710060\/states-report-illegal-immigrants-enrolled-welfare-programs-federal-government\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>States must <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/states-must-report-illegal-immigrants-or-risk-losing-welfare-funds-doj\/\" title=\"States must report illegal immigrants or risk losing welfare funds: DOJ\">report illegal immigrants enrolled<\/a> in welfare programs to federal government, DOJ says<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wiesenfeld made the allegations on Friday in an office-wide email sent to more than 2,000 employees, according to a copy obtained by the <em>Times Union<\/em>, which first reported the whistleblower\u2019s claims.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the email, Wiesenfeld alleged that Shamiso Maswoswe, chief of the attorney general\u2019s Investor Protection Bureau, instructed him \u201cto find and pursue crimes committed by specific individuals and organizations affiliated with Donald Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He claimed the potential targets included \u201cTrump himself, Truth Social, Hewlett Packard\u201d and others, despite what he described as an absence of credible reasons to investigate them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf 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,\u201d Wiesenfeld wrote, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.timesunion.com\/capitol\/article\/ny-prosecutor-claims-letitia-james-office-22409213.php\">according<\/a> to the <em>Times Union<\/em>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He urged colleagues to prosecute crimes and identify those responsible, rather than \u201ctargeting individuals and then finding crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The email was quickly deleted from the attorney general\u2019s servers and disappeared from employees\u2019 inboxes, the <em>Times Union<\/em> reported. James\u2019s general counsel subsequently told staff that the situation was an internal matter and that no employees were in danger.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">James\u2019s office said Wiesenfeld had been placed on administrative leave with full pay and characterized the dispute as a personnel matter.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe office of the attorney general is committed to upholding<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"61\"> New York\u2019s <\/a>laws and protecting the rights and freedoms of all New Yorkers, regardless of political beliefs,\u201d spokeswoman Alexis Richards told the outlet on Friday. \u201cWe strongly reject any assertion to the contrary.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wiesenfeld has worked in James\u2019s office for about two years and previously served as a Brooklyn prosecutor. He has handled major matters for the Investor Protection Bureau, including litigation that accused companies of <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >illegally operating prediction-market platforms<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Levi Stoep, a partner at the law firm Dordrecht Layton representing Wiesenfeld, told the <em>Washington Examiner <\/em>that \u201cMr. Wiesenfeld has no public comment at the current time.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The accusations emerge from a long-running political and legal conflict between James and Trump. James campaigned in 2018 on investigating Trump\u2019s business dealings and later secured a controversial civil fraud judgment against Trump, his two sons, and a company official. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-upholds-ohio-law-banning-down-syndrome-abortions\/\" title=\"Appeals Court Upholds Ohio Law Banning Down Syndrome Abortions\">appeals court upheld<\/a> the fraud finding in 2025 but eliminated the financial penalty of more than $360 million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <em>New York Post<\/em> first <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/09\/02\/us-news\/fed-investigators-met-with-tish-james-whistleblower-who-claimed-he-was-pushed-to-dig-up-dirt-on-trump-sources\/\">reported<\/a> Wednesday afternoon that the interview with federal investigators had taken place the day before, citing multiple sources.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Trump has repeatedly accused James of weaponizing her office against him. James, meanwhile, has accused his administration of political retaliation through federal investigations focused on her.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap wex-ad-art-dsk-inart-5\" style=\"min-height:90px\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" hidden>Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-26\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-5\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4707841\/letitia-james-anti-trump-resistance-flank-whistleblower-tiana-lowe-doescher\/\">LETITIA JAMES HOLDING ON TO \u2018ANTI-TRUMP RESISTANCE FLANK\u2019 IN LATEST WHISTLEBLOWER ACCUSATIONS<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A federal appeals court <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4653131\/appeals-court-hearing-date-dismissal-james-comey-letitia-james-cases\/\">will hear arguments<\/a> later this month over a federal judge\u2019s decision finding that one of Trump\u2019s U.S. attorneys in Virginia was unlawfully appointed, resulting in the dismissal of a federal mortgage fraud indictment against her.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">James\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FBI interviews NY AG whistleblower on Trump probe<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2653734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25282757568004.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[7076,6234,76554,3634],"class_list":["post-2653733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-doj","tag-interview","tag-letitiajames","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25282757568004.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2653733"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2653737,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2653733\/revisions\/2653737"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2653734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2653733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2653733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2653733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}