White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt abruptly cut off a CNN reporter during a tense back-and-forth over New York Attorney General Letitia James, a frequent target of President Donald Trump.
James and Trump have been locked in a long-running legal battle since she sued the Trump Organization for fraud. Since then, the two have repeatedly traded lawsuits. Most recently, Trump’s administration has tried to push a case against James for alleged mortgage fraud, though so far, nothing has come of it. Just last week, Trump fired a U.S. attorney after they failed to produce evidence to back up those allegations.
At Monday’s press briefing, CNN’s Kristen Holmes pressed Leavitt on how the president plans to proceed if his new attorney general, Pam Bondi, also concludes there isn’t enough evidence to charge James.
“Just going back to this Letitia James story: what does President Trump plan to do if the Attorney General Pam Bondi tells him that there is not enough evidence to bring his political opponents’ cases or to charge those cases?” Holmes asked.
“That’s a hypothetical question, Kristen. That hasn’t happened at this point,” Leavitt replied.
Holmes followed up, pointing out that one U.S. attorney had already been fired for failing to find evidence. “But we did see one U.S. attorney not be able to find enough evidence, and now they no longer have a job. Is that something that you would consider?”
Leavitt sidestepped the question again. “Look, the president stands with Pam Bondi 100%. He made that clear this weekend. He answered questions from all of you last night on Air Force One. He said the same, and that’s how he feels at this moment in time.”
Holmes tried to press further, beginning, “Just one more thing, the Attorney General—” before Leavitt quickly moved on, calling on another reporter instead.
The exchange highlighted the high-stakes battle between Trump and James, one that has spilled into public view again and again. For now, the administration is standing by Bondi, but the pressure is mounting as critics question whether the pursuit of James is politically motivated and whether Trump is willing to fire more officials if they fail to deliver the results he wants.