Free Republic

Indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James was defiant Monday in her first public appearance since being hit with federal charges over allegations she committed bank fraud and lied to a financial institution to obtain a lower mortgage rate. “We see powerful voices trying to silence truth and punish dissent and weaponize justice for political gain,” James told supporters of Zohran Mamdani at a rally for the New York City mayoral frontrunner in Washington Heights. “We are witnessing the fraying of our democracy, the erosion of our system of government,” the Empire State’s top prosecutor argued, describing the current state...

Gov. Kathy Hochul shut down Democratic Socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani’s plan to hike taxes on some New Yorkers — as she admitted high costs were pushing residents to move out of state. Hochul was asked in a TV interview if she backed Mamdani’s plan to tax wealthy New Yorkers and up the corporate tax and flatly replied, “No.” “I’m not raising taxes at a time where affordability is the big issue,” Hochul told PIX 11. Mamdani has said he would impose a 2% income tax on Big Apple residents who make more than $1 million a year and inflate...

A City Council member from Queens is urging her constituents to arm themselves following a terrifying home invasion in which robbers posing as Amazon drivers tied up a family and snatched thousands of dollars in cash, according to cops. Republican Vickie Paladino offered to help residents in her district — which covers Whitestone, where the ordeal took place — obtain gun permits in light of the break-in Monday morning. “I want to remind my constituents that New Yorkers have a constitutional right to protect themselves,” Paladino said in a statement. “I urge my constituents to avail themselves of their rights...

A liberal City Council member known for anti-Israel remarks funneled more than $149,000 of taxpayer money to various Arab immigrant groups tied to her husband, The Post has learned. Brooklyn Councilwoman Shahana Hanif (D-39) used her discretionary funding to pay various nonprofits where her husband is involved, including Arab American Association of New York, The Arab American Family Support Center and the New York Immigration Coalition. And the pro-Palestinian lawmaker increased or decreased the amount she gave away to several groups depending on her husband’s involvement, according to public records. Hanif’s husband, Abdullah Younus, joined the board of the Arab...