A former federal prosecutor is seeking the Republican nomination to run against state Attorney General Letitia James, the embattled Democratic incumbent and rival of President Trump.
Saritha Komatireddy, 41, was set to announce a run for the GOP nomination Monday, adding to a growing field of Republicans looking to take on James.
Komatireddy worked in the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District in Brooklyn, serving as chief of International Narcotics and Money Laundering, Deputy Chief of Appeals and Deputy Chief of General Crimes.
“I’ve spent over a decade in the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuting the worst of the worst. Terrorists, murderers, fraudsters, and hackers,” Komatireddy said — noting she has taken on cases involving al Qaeda, ISIS and the Sinaloa cartel.
“Now, I want to get the attorney general’s office back to basics — protecting New Yorkers and locking up criminals. Under Letitia James, the AG’s office has become preoccupied with partisan vendetta, and lost sight of what matters to most New Yorkers.”
Komatireddy, who also served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanagugh when he was on the US Court of Appeals, would likely have to win a Republican primary before facing James.
Republicans interested in running for the seat include Michael Henry, the 2022 GOP candidate for AG, and crypto lawyer Khurram Dara.
Komatireddy — a married mother of four — said the bottom line is “if New York isn’t safe, nothing else matters.”
“If elected, I’ll focus all my energy on the safety of the people of New York – from Bethpage to Buffalo, Staten Island to Saratoga Springs, the people of the Empire State will be able to trust that they have an Attorney General focused on keeping them safe.”
A recipient of multiple attorney general awards, Komatireddy is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She has lectured at Columbia University Law School for over a decade.
Incumbent James, 67, the AG since 2019, has investigated and prosecuted the most powerful figures in government.
Her office’s investigative report of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo over sexual misconduct accusations led to his resignation despite his denial of the claims.
She won a civil fraud conviction against President Trump and the Trump Organization for inflating their net worth by billions to allegedly dupe banks and insurers over the course of a decade.
But a New York appeals court threw out the more than $500 million fine he owed in the business fraud case while Trump maintained it was a partisan prosecution.
In turn, the Trump administration’s Department of Justice indicted James for mortgage fraud regarding a residential property she owned in Virginia.
James was accused of buying a three-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Norfolk on Aug. 17, 2020, using a $109,600 loan.
James allegedly said she would be the “sole borrower to occupy and use the property,” when in reality her grandniece lived there and paid rent, the feds claimed.
But a federal judge dismissed the case last week, finding that interim US Attorney Lindsey Halligan was improperly appointed to her position and “had no lawful authority” to secure indictments against her and another Trump adversary in a separate case, former FBI Director James Comey.
James claimed she was innocent and accused Trump of using his Justice Department to wage retribution for prosecuting him.
US Attorney General Pam Bondi vowed to appeal the dismissal.
