State Attorney General Letitia James said her office would be “looking into” truth-challenged Rep.-Elect George Santos — even though James took cash from his 2022 opponent.
The newly elected Republican congressman is facing a growing torrent of criticism after he admitted to fabricating key parts of his personal and professional resume. In addition to James, Santos is under investigation by Nassau County’s Republican district attorney and federal prosecutors.
James, a Democrat who was re-elected to her statewide post this year, took $1,000 from Ze Creative Communications in December 2020, records show. The company is owned by communications professional Robert Zimmerman, the Dem who Santos beat in the November midterms on Long Island.
“Sounds like a conflict of interest to me,” said Robert Straniere, a former state assemblyman from Staten Island.
“I think [James] is highly partisan,” Straniere added. “She did her best to take Andrew Cuomo down … anticipating that she would be a formidable candidate for governor herself.”
The close relations between James and Zimmerman continued into the 2022 race as well. In October James was named as a “special guest” when Zimmerman opened a campaign office in Plainview, L.I. Zimmerman marched with James too during a Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade, and posed with her for friendly photos which he later uploaded to his Facebook page.
James’ critics said the closeness between the two warranted her immediate recusal from any investigation into Santos.
“She should step aside and recuse herself,” said Curtis Sliwa, the former GOP nominee for mayor. “I would say Tish you refused to debate when you ran for Attorney General — the only who who refused — and now you want to jump into this because it’s the limelight. It’s the first time she’s jumping into anything not named Trump. Step aside.”
Reps for James did not respond to request for comment from The Post.