#GOP lawyer taking on Letitia James for attorney general

A Republican lawyer is seeking to take on Democratic incumbent Letitia James in the race for state attorney general next year.

Michael Henry, a commercial litigation lawyer, has opened a campaign account and is kicking off a tour of the state.

Henry claims James is “nothing more than the attorney general grandstander” and was slow to respond to coronavirus deaths in nursing homes in the state last year.

James issued a scathing report in January that concluded Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration had undercounted COVID-linked nursing-home deaths by 50 percent.

Investigators for AG James are currently conducting a probe into accusations that Cuomo sexually harassed current and former staffers. He has denied wrongdoing.

Henry also hit James for suing the NYPD for allegedly violating the civil rights of protesters during last year’s George Floyd protests instead of addressing the “crime crisis” and for introducing legislation he says would make it harder for law enforcement to do their job.

“How can you be the chief law enforcement officer in the state when you don’t believe in law enforcement?” Henry said.

Henry has represented asylum seekers as a lawyer. Before becoming an attorney, he worked in the mortgage industry.