Letitia James

Letitia James, born on October 18, 1958, is a prominent American lawyer and politician hailing from New York. Since 2019, she has held the esteemed position of the 67th attorney general of New York, having first been elected to this role in 2018. As a member of the Democratic Party, James made history as the first Black person to serve as New York attorney general and the first Black woman to hold statewide office in the state.

Raised in Brooklyn, James pursued her education at Lehman College in the Bronx before earning her Juris Doctor degree from Howard University in Washington, D.C. Her career began as a public defender, followed by a role in the New York State Assembly and later as an Assistant Attorney General in Brooklyn. From 2004 to 2013, she served on the New York City Council, representing the 35th district, which encompasses several Brooklyn neighborhoods. During her tenure, she chaired committees on economic development and sanitation.

James' political journey continued as she became the New York City Public Advocate from 2013 to 2018, marking her as the first African American woman to be elected to a citywide office in New York City. Notably, her office filed a civil suit against Donald Trump, resulting in penalties exceeding four hundred million dollars, although a divided appeals court later deemed the penalty excessive.

In December 2021, James briefly entered the race for the 2022 New York gubernatorial election but ultimately chose to run for reelection as Attorney General. In October 2025, she faced federal indictment on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, to which she pled not guilty. The case was dismissed by a federal judge shortly thereafter, with subsequent grand juries refusing to bring further charges against her, leading her legal team to describe the government's actions as selective and vindictive.