OMITTED

What the news leaves out.

← Omitted front page

Letitia James Ordered Prosecutor to Target Trump Allies Whistleblower Claims

3 sources · updated 2026-08-31
Left 0% Center 0% Right 100%
0 left · 0 center · 3 right

What happened

On Friday, New York Assistant Attorney General Daniel Wiesenfeld sent an agency-wide email stating that Investor Protection Bureau chief Shamiso Maswoswe instructed him to find and pursue crimes by Donald Trump, Truth Social, and other Trump-affiliated parties without a credible investigative reason. The Albany Times Union reported that the message was quickly deleted from office email servers and that general counsel Kumiki Gibson then emailed staff calling the episode an internal matter. Wiesenfeld was placed on administrative leave. Attorney General Letitia James’s office described the situation as a personnel matter, said it upholds New York law regardless of political beliefs, and rejected assertions of politically motivated targeting.
BLINDSPOT. Only right-leaning outlets are covering this story — the other side's media is silent.
Omitted — what each side leaves out

Unpacked

Left-leaning coverage has not reported this story at all. Right-leaning coverage reports that a New York assistant attorney general emailed the office claiming he was ordered to find crimes by Trump affiliates without a credible reason. It also reports that the email was deleted from servers and that he was placed on leave. The office called the episode a personnel matter. He said public money was being spent on political targets rather than other crimes. Readers who only see the silent side would not know the allegation, the deletion, or the denial exist. Right-leaning outlets disagree on a basic personnel fact. The Daily Caller reports unpaid administrative leave, while the New York Post reports paid leave. Did any other employee confirm the order to target Trump, Truth Social, and Hewlett Packard?
Bottom line

Skip the Daily Caller and the New York Post and you never hear that Daniel Wiesenfeld emailed 2,000 colleagues claiming he was told to find Trump-related crimes, after which the message disappeared from office servers.

The receipts — 6 facts one side's coverage lacks
  • Assistant Attorney General Daniel Wiesenfeld emailed staff that he was ordered to find and pursue crimes by Trump-affiliated individuals and organizations without a credible reason individual casein Daily Caller, New York Post · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • The email was sent to 2,000 staff in the attorney general's office numberin New York Post · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • Wiesenfeld named Investor Protection Bureau chief Shamiso Maswoswe as the supervisor who gave the targeting order individual casein Daily Caller, New York Post · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • General counsel Kumiki Gibson told staff the situation was an internal matter and that nobody in the office was in danger official statementin New York Post · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • Wiesenfeld said the office was ignoring nonprofit homeless-shelter fraud, Medicaid fraud, and crimes around synagogues contextin New York Post · absent from left-leaning coverage
  • James's office said it strongly rejects any assertion that it targets people based on political beliefs official statementin Daily Caller · absent from left-leaning coverage
The Right View
Right-leaning outlets, drawing on Times Union reporting, present Wiesenfeld as a whistleblower who said he was told to “find and pursue crimes” against Trump, Truth Social, and a Hewlett Packard merger without a predicate, while the office spent taxpayer money on “convenient public enemies.” They report that the email was remotely wiped, that Gibson told staff it was internal and that no one was “in danger,” and that Wiesenfeld was put on leave, which they frame as damage control. Coverage stresses James’s 2018 campaign pledge to hold Trump accountable, argues the claims could affect her civil case against him and her reelection, and contrasts Trump-related probes with alleged inaction on Medicaid fraud, nonprofit shelter fraud, and antisemitic crimes. James’s office is quoted denying political targeting and calling it a personnel issue.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is substantive in its scaffolding and thin at its core. Named actors, a specific Friday all-staff email, a confirmed leave action, and an on-the-record office statement are established. The central charge—that Maswoswe, and by implication James, ordered investigations of Trump affiliates without a lawful reason—remains alleged and, in this coverage, rests on Wiesenfeld’s uncorroborated account; the full email is not published here and no other staff are quoted confirming the instruction. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for the email text, additional staff or documentary corroboration, any formal inquiry, and further statements from Wiesenfeld or the attorney general’s office.

3 sources

The week's bottom lines, in your inbox

One email a week: the five stories that mattered and what they actually mean. Free.