Vs. Don

Tish & Zephyr vie to be toughest on his corruption

THEY MAY be running for attorney general of New York State, but city Public Advocate Letitia James and Fordham Law Prof. Zephyr Teachout have their sights firmly focused on fighting President Trump.

James and Teachout separately called Tuesday for the closure of a loophole that prohibits the state from prosecuting individuals who’ve received a presidential pardon.

“Given President Trump’s recent use of the presidential pardon in a case adjudicated in New York State and his claim that he can pardon himself as he pleases, it’s clear that we must act now,” said James, who is already on the Sept. 13 primary ballot after securing more than 85% of the delegate vote at the recent state Democratic Party convention.

Under current New York law, the state must obtain an exemption in order to prosecute someone if they have already been prosecuted for the same offenses by the federal government or another state.

The state attorney general’s office has been pushing the Legislature to act on a bill that would exempt from the double jeopardy law the state prosecution of those who received presidential pardons, clemencies or other reprieves.

James’ call for the passage of the loophole closure comes after Trump last week pardoned conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza, who pleaded guilty four years ago in Manhattan Federal Court to using illegal straw donors to contribute to a New York Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

Teachout, who is looking to petition her way onto the Sept. 13 primary ballot, officially kicked off her campaign in front of Trump Tower — saying that fighting corruption in the Trump administration would be a top priority.

“It is through the Trump Organization, headquartered here in New York, that he has turned the Presidency into a personal ATM, engaging in business deals aimed at funneling money from foreign governments into his own pockets,” Teachout said. “Here, he has turned our democracy into a kleptocracy.”

“The best answer to Trump’s threat of tyranny, of unchecked arbitrary power, is the sword of law,” she said.

And while she supports closing the so-called double jeopardy loophole, Teachout argued that “it’s important to understand that we don’t lack tools regardless of what happens there.”