Taxpayers in New York could be on the hook for Letitia James’ legal bills

The language in a new budget bill up for a vote later Wednesday evening could potentially burden New York taxpayers with state Attorney General Letitia James’ legal fees in a fraud case initiated by the Trump administration. Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled her proposed $254 billion budget last week, and the state legislature is gearing up to vote on it this week. Republicans and Democrats in the legislature are slated to vote on the draft version of the state operations section of the budget on Wednesday evening.

The draft version of the budget bill, as per a copy provided to Fox News Digital by the state Republican Party, includes provisions that would require taxpayers to finance a legal defense fund that could cover Attorney General James’ legal expenses related to fraud allegations leveled against her by the Federal Housing Finance Agency under the Trump administration.

Although James is not specifically mentioned in the bill, the language in the draft document indicates that $10 million would be set aside for elected officials in the state to utilize for their legal defense in cases directly linked to the performance of their official duties. Attorney Abbe Lowell, representing James, has characterized the fraud claims made by the Trump administration as a form of political retaliation for James’ actions against Donald Trump over allegations of business document falsification.

The operations budget draft language, crafted by the Democrat-controlled executive branch, Senate majority, and Assembly majority, allows a state official to tap into the legal defense fund if they have had prior interactions with the U.S. government or its officials while carrying out their duties. Additional criteria would be applied to James, especially given her past legal battle against Trump that resulted in the first-ever felony conviction of a U.S. president.

A spokesperson for James stated that the Attorney General plans to utilize a combination of private and public state funds to mount her defense against the allegations. The draft language of the operations budget bill is expected to be made public on Wednesday.

In response to the developments, New York GOP Chair Ed Cox condemned the situation, alleging that it reeks of corruption and favoritism towards political insiders at the expense of hardworking families. Cox accused James of leveraging her office to wage partisan legal battles against her political adversaries, leaving New Yorkers to bear the financial consequences.

As the budget bill vote looms, the outcome will undoubtedly have significant implications for the state’s taxpayers and the ongoing legal battle involving Attorney General Letitia James.