Nikki Haley accuses NY AG Letitia James of leaking donor list, breaking law
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley accused state Attorney General Letitia James’ office of breaking tax laws by leaking the list of donors to her conservative not-for-profit advocacy group, Stand for America.
Haley, the former South Carolina governor and Trump administration ambassador who is mentioned as a potential Republican presidential candidate, referred to a recent article in Politico, which obtained a copy of an unredacted copy of Stand For America’s tax return from a watchdog group called Documented.
The copy included a list of donors that is typically kept secret.
“We look at the last page from what Politico provided and it has the New York state attorney general’s office stamp on it. So that office leaked it to the press,” Haley told Fox News Tuesday.
The state attorney general regulates all tax-exempt charitable and not-for-profit groups that operate in New York. So it receives copies of tax filings that also go to the IRS.
Haley said she is filing a lawsuit against James’ office and will call on US Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate the state attorney general.
“This is a federal tax crime,” she told host Dana Perino.
“And so now we are basically saying we’re not going to cry about this or whine about this, we’re going to fight this. We are filing a lawsuit against the New York state attorney general’s office and going to Merrick Garland and saying it is a tax crime and want him to investigate that office,” she said.
“Liberal AGs have weaponized their offices to target pro-life groups, the NRA, President Trump, and many other conservatives. We aren’t going to take this any more.”
Haley said such leaks don’t happen at left-leaning groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood.
“They’re trying to intimidate conservatives,” she said.
Haley said policy advocacy groups are not required to disclose their donors under federal law. She said people who believe donor lists for Stand for America and other advocacy groups should be released to the public should fight for Congress to change the law to do so.
“The idea that New York State Attorney General can violate state law, can turn around and violate federal tax law, I mean, there is no excuse whatsoever for this lawlessness,” she said.
“Well, you know, we are not going to throw cotton balls at them, we’re going to throw a grenade and we’re going to make sure they know enough is enough.”
Democrat James, who is running for re-election this fall, had no immediate comment.
James, is currently conducting a criminal probe of former President Donald Trump’s business dealings.
Last year, she issued a devastating investigative report that forced the resignation of former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo after concluding he mistreated nearly a dozen women. An allegation he has denied.
Haley’s group received contributions from some of the biggest Republican donors in the business world, including New York hedge honcho Paul Singer, investor Stanley Druckenmiller, Miriam Adelson and her late husband, casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, according to the 2019 Internal Revenue Service filings provided to Politico.
