The office is a potential firewall against an out-of-control president and a historically corrupt New York State government.
By The Editorial Board
The most important choice facing New
York voters this fall is whom they will pick as their next state
attorney general. The office could be the last line of defense against
an antidemocratic president, a federal government indifferent to
environmental and consumer protection and a state government in which
ethics can seem a mere inconvenience.
Even
in the best of times the office plays a critical role, policing fraud
on Wall Street and ensuring enforcement of state and federal laws, from
regulating the financial system to preventing employment discrimination.
Its influence is felt across the nation.
These
are not the best of times. With the right leadership, the office could
serve as a firewall if President Trump pardons senior aides, dismisses
the special counsel, Robert Mueller, or attacks the foundations of state
power. Only a handful of American institutions are equipped to resist
such assaults on constitutional authority, and the New York attorney
general’s office, with 650 lawyers and a history of muscular law enforcement, is one of them.
The
next attorney general will have a full docket in New York as well.
Albany has long been a chamber of ethical horrors. In March, Gov. Andrew
Cuomo’s former senior aide Joseph Percoco was convicted on corruption charges. In May, former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, was also convicted of corruption.
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