Federal prosecutors and FBI investigators met for several hours Tuesday with a whistleblower from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office who alleged he was pressured to pursue information that could be used against President Trump and his political allies.
Daniel Wiesenfeld, a former Brooklyn prosecutor and attorney in James’ Investor Protection Bureau, met with both criminal and civil attorneys from the FBI and Department of Justice, according to sources who spoke with the New York Post.
Wiesenfeld was placed on paid administrative leave after a since-deleted email he reportedly sent to roughly 2,000 colleagues was leaked to the Times-Union. In the email, Wiesenfeld alleged that his supervisor, Investor Protection Bureau Chief Shamiso Maswoswe, instructed him to “find and pursue crimes” involving Trump allies.
He specifically claimed he was directed to target Trump, Truth Social and Hewlett-Packard without a credible reason for doing so.
“If you believe Trump is using the Department of Justice attorneys to prosecute his enemies,” Wiesenfeld wrote, according to the leaked email, “you should find it equally troubling that Tish [James] is doing exactly the same thing.”
Wiesenfeld also accused James’ office of spending “significant public taxpayer dollars” to target political enemies while taking no action against “rampant nonprofit homeless shelter fraud and antisemitic crimes in and around synagogues.” He urged colleagues in the email not to act as James’ “personal attorneys” by targeting political opponents, arguing instead that prosecutors should identify actual crimes and then pursue those responsible.
