Attorney General Letitia James’s declaration on a liberal podcast, “Pod Save America,” that Governor Cuomo’s ultimate aim is not Gracie Mansion but the White House underscores how Ms. James’s antipathy persists for her old enemy, Mr. Cuomo, who could soon be mayor of New York, even as she continues to tangle with President Trump. 

Ms. James’s comments came hours before a debate that saw Mr. Cuomo, the current favorite for the mayoralty,  and his rivals take the stage. She reckons that the former governor is “not interested in serving as the mayor of the city of New York. … He is only interested in running for the presidency of these United States.” Ms. James has endorsed the left-leaning speaker of the New York city council, Adrienne Adams, for mayor. 

Mr. Cuomo’s father, Mario — himself a governor of New York — mulled running for president in 1988 and 1992. He decided against it both times, though his deliberation led some to nickname him “the Hamlet of the Hudson.”

In Ms. James’s interview she references an article from Politico written by the debate’s moderator, Sally Goldenberg, that discloses that Mr. Cuomo, who is leading in the mayoral polls but facing a stiff challenge from a socialist, Zohran Mamdani, is “already planning a national campaign to take on President Donald Trump.” The mayoral race’s Democratic primary is June 24. 

Mr. Trump has already begun his own campaigns, in the form of criminal investigations, against both Ms. James and Mr. Cuomo. New York’s attorney general is being investigated by the Department of Justice following a criminal referral alleging that she lied on mortgage documents. These accusations include listing a modest Virginia home as her primary residence when she was obligated to live in New York, representing that her husband was her father, and incorrectly listing the number of units in a rental home she owns in Brooklyn. The loan fraud accusations mirror those she brought against the Trump Organization. 

Ms. James’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell — whose Rolodex of clients includes Hunter Biden, Jared and Ivanka Trump, and a former presidential candidate, Senator Edwards— calls the accusations “threadbare,” “cherry-picked,” and tantamount to a “revenge tour.” Although the allegations concern Ms. James’s private behavior, she is enlisting her office in her defense, meaning that her bills are being covered, at least in part, by New York City taxpayers. 

Mr. Cuomo is also under criminal investigation by Mr. Trump’s Department of Justice for allegedly lying to Congress in respect of testimony regarding his stewardship of New York and its nursing homes during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The investigation of Mr. Cuomo is being overseen by the acting  United States attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News personality. Mr. Cuomo and Ms. Pirro have long sparred in New York politics and are devoted foes.

When reporters informed Mr. Trump of reports of the investigation, he mused, “I’ve known Andrew. We’ve had an on-off relationship. He was saying the greatest things about me … and then the next day he’d hit us … I hope it’s going to be okay, I hope it’s not going to be serious for him. We’ll see what happens.”

Mr. Trump has been less forgiving of Ms. James, who ran for office promising to shine “a bright light into every dark corner” of his real estate dealings — and then secured a civil fraud verdict of some $500 million against Mr. Trump, his two adult sons, and their business. The judge who meted out that punishment, Arthur Engoron, also imposed an independent monitor on the Trump Organization and barred it from doing some business in New York. 

Mr. Trump has appealed Judge Engoron’s decision, which found the presence of “persistent fraud” at the core of the 47th president’s real estate empire. An appellate court appeared skeptical of what it called the “immense” penalty imposed by Judge Engoron for what one jurist reckoned appeared to be a mere “commercial dispute” between Mr. Trump and sophisticated business interlocutors.

Ms. James has also been busy launching lawsuits against the Trump administration seeking to thwart his second term agenda — especially with respect to immigration — and has also reportedly launched a probe into his camarilla for insider trading related to the White House’s evolving policies on tariffs. A group, America First Legal, founded by a senior adviser to Mr. Trump, Stephen Miller, is working to sanction Ms. James through the Empire State Bar.

Ms. James’s history with Mr. Cuomo is no less jagged. The attorney general was in charge of the investigation into accusations of sexual harassment that ultimately led to Mr. Cuomo’s resignation as governor in April 2021. Mr. Cuomo alleges that Ms. James manipulated the report on her investigation’s findings in order to aid her own run for governor. The two have been implacable enemies ever since. 

Now Ms. James tells “Pod Save America” that “progress requires that we look forward and that we not go backward.” She insists that this is especially true for “African-Americans,” and cites Mr. Cuomo’s criticism of herself and President Obama. Polling, though, discloses that New York’s Black voters are largely supportive of Mr. Cuomo.