纽约司法部长莱蒂蒂亚·詹姆斯周四宣布，她将暂停州长竞选，转而竞选司法部长连任。
詹姆斯在推特上说，“许多调查和案件正在进行中”，她“打算完成这项工作。”
我得出的结论是，我必须继续我作为总检察长的工作。有许多重要的调查和案件正在进行中，我打算完成这项工作。我正在竞选连任，以完成纽约人选我做的工作。
— Tish James (@TishJames)2021年12月9日
这位主席告诉美国广播公司新闻，为了州民主党的利益，她选择放弃对州长职位的追求。
“我认为她明白我们现在需要团结起来，分裂的初选将违背我们的利益。不会帮我们的。这是她无私的行为，”州民主党主席杰伊·雅各布斯告诉WABC。
尽管詹姆斯作为州司法部长备受瞩目，但她的竞选活动并没有获得很大的吸引力。前州长安德鲁·科莫(Andrew Cuomo)辞职后，州长凯西·霍楚尔(Kathy Hochul)上任后，为了彻底赢得任期，她在全州范围内获得了大量支持。
一位知情人士周四告诉美国广播公司新闻，詹姆斯希望罢免前总统唐纳德·特朗普，作为其办公室对特朗普组织民事调查的一部分。
消息人士称，她于1月7日寻求前总统的证词，首先确认了一个细节据报告的华盛顿邮报。
司法部长办公室正在调查特朗普组织在评估其房地产资产时是否存在财务欺诈。曼哈顿地区检察官办公室也在调查房产估价，该办公室正在决定这位前总统是否应该面临刑事指控。
在周四关于新冠肺炎的新闻发布会上，霍楚尔告诉记者，詹姆斯早上打电话给她，告诉她这个决定。霍楚尔说，她支持詹姆斯连任司法部长。
“我要感谢她的领导;甚至上周我们还一起在布鲁克林的教堂里;[我们]总是非常亲切，总是互相尊重。这是我们两个的标志，也是我们计划如何继续合作，支持她正在采取的重要政策，以及她对我们在纽约州所做工作的支持，”霍楚尔说。
霍赫尔还谈到了詹姆斯正在进行的调查:“对唐纳德·特朗普和全国步枪协会来说，这是非常糟糕的一天，因为我们有全国最好的总检察长之一蒂什·詹姆斯，他非常专注于确保正义得到伸张。”
詹姆斯的声明立即对司法部长竞选产生了影响，因为一名候选人退出了民主党初选，转而支持詹姆斯。
“她决定竞选连任，表明她决心继续在目前悬而未决的重大案件和重要调查上采取无与伦比的行动，”去年11月发起竞选司法部长的州参议员谢莉·迈尔(Shelley Mayer)在推特上发表声明写道。
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—谢莉·迈尔(@Shelley4NY)2021年12月9日
梅耶尔说，她将竞选州参议院的连任。
詹姆斯在10月下旬发起了她的州长竞选。在对前纽约州州长安德鲁·科莫的办公室进行调查后，她的公众形象今年有所上升，因为她隐瞒了因新冠肺炎而在养老院死亡的人数，并对他的性骚扰指控进行了调查。
詹姆斯是第一位在纽约担任全州职务的有色人种女性，也是第一位当选该州司法部长的女性。
2013年，她当选为纽约市公共辩护律师，并于2017年再次当选连任。她曾担任纽约市议员十年。在当选之前，詹姆斯领导着纽约州总检察长办公室布鲁克林地区办公室。
New York Attorney General Letitia James suspends campaign for governor
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Thursday that she’s suspending her campaign for governor and will instead run for reelection for attorney general.
James took to Twitter saying that there are "many investigations and cases underway" and that she "intends to finish the job."
I have come to the conclusion that I must continue my work as attorney general. There are a number of important investigations and cases that are underway, and I intend to finish the job.I am running for re-election to complete the work New Yorkers elected me to do.
— Tish James (@TishJames)December 9, 2021
She opted to relinquish her pursuit of the governor’s office for the good of the state Democratic party, the chairman told ABC News.
"I think that she understands that we need to be united now and divisive primary is going to go against our interests. Not going to help us. This was a selfless act on her part," state Democratic chairman Jay Jacobs told WABC.
James’ campaign did not gain significant traction despite her high profile as the state’s attorney general. Gov. Kathy Hochul locked up significant endorsements across the state in her bid to win a term outright after she assumed office upon the resignation of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
A source familiar with the matter told ABC News Thursday James wants to depose former President Donald Trump as part of her office’s civil investigation into the Trump Organization.
She sought testimony from the former president Jan. 7, the source said, confirming a detail firstreportedby the Washington Post.
The attorney general's office is investigating whether the Trump Organization committed financial fraud in the way it valued its real estate holdings. Property valuations are also under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, which is deciding whether the former president should face criminal charges.
At a press conference about COVID-19 on Thursday, Hochul told reporters that James called her in the morning to inform her about the decision. Hochul said she supports James’ reelection as attorney general.
"I want to thank her for her leadership; even last week we were together in a Brooklyn church; [we were] always very cordial, always respectful to each other. And that's the hallmark of the two of us and how we plan to continue working together to support the important policies that she's undertaking and her support for what we're doing here in the state of New York," Hochul said.
Hochul also addressed the investigations James is undertaking: "This is a very bad day for Donald Trump and the NRA when we have when we have Tish James, one of the finest attorney generals in the country, very focused on making sure that justice is done."
James' announcement had an immediate impact on the attorney general race, as one candidate dropped out of the Democratic primary and endorsed James.
"Her decision to run for re-election demonstrates her determination to continue her unparalleled actions on major cases and important investigations that are currently pending," state Sen. Shelley Mayer, who launched her run for attorney general in November, wrote in a statement on Twitter.
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— Shelley Mayer (@Shelley4NY)December 9, 2021
Mayer said she will instead run for reelection in the state Senate.
James launched her campaign for governor in late October. Her public profile grew this year following investigations into the office of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo for concealing the number of nursing home deaths due to COVID-19 and into sexual harassment allegations against him.
James is the first woman of color to hold statewide office in New York and the first woman to be elected attorney general of the state.
In 2013, she was elected public advocate of New York City, and she was reelected for a second term in 2017. She had previously served as a New York City councilmember for ten years. Before being elected to office, James led the Brooklyn Regional Office of the New York State Attorney General’s Office.
