Mamdani says political retribution ‘only thing’ Trump can deliver on

New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani (D) described the indictment of New York Attorney General Letitia James as political retribution, which he added is the "only thing" President Trump can deliver on.

"Look, I think we've seen, whether it be with [former FBI Director] James Comey, whether it be with Attorney General James, that this is not something that Donald Trump is going to stop at any one individual," Mamdani said on CNN's "The Source with Kaitlan Collins" on Friday. "It's a feature of his political agenda, and it is the only thing that he can quite deliver on in this moment."

"And so, I know that when he makes these threats of denaturalizing me, deporting me, arresting me, these are ones that he may intend to deliver on," Mamdani said. "And yet, it is also the price of standing up to that administration that many of us are willing to pay, if it means actually standing up for New Yorkers."

Mamdani added that James's indictment is "the weaponization of justice, and it's one that's looking to make an example of the attorney general." He defended James as "somebody who has put the city, the state, the people of it, first."

"Frankly, that's why Donald Trump is persecuting her," Mamdani said.

Asked how he would handle the president freezing New York City infrastructure funding as mayor, Mamdani told Collins that "you utilize every legal tool at your disposal." Trump also has threatened to pull other funding for the city if the state representative wins the mayoral election.

"You sue Donald Trump, because too often, what we find is we're treating his pronouncements as if they are legal, just by virtue of them coming from his mouth," Mamdani said.

The charges that James faces include bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution, centering on her 2020 purchase and subsequent use of a property in Norfolk, Va. She is scheduled to be arraigned in a Norfolk federal court on Oct. 24.

Comey pleaded not guilty to counts of false statements to Congress and obstruction of a congressional proceeding. The charges stem from his 2020 congressional testimony about the FBI's investigation into Russian ties to Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Last month, Trump appeared to direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate his perceived political enemies, including Comey, James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.)

"We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility," Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. "They impeached me twice, and indicted me (5 times!), OVER NOTHING. JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED, NOW!!!"