Richard Azzopardi, the former senior adviser to ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has called Attorney General Letitia James the “biggest hypocrite in Albany” after her office released personnel records of a whistleblower who accused her of targeting President Trump.
Azzopardi, 47, who served as communications director for Cuomo during his time leading New York, made the charge in an interview with The Post. He knows the territory well: James’ own investigative team accused him of retaliation five years ago when records went public on a staffer who had accused the governor of sexual harassment.
“AG James is probably the biggest hypocrite in Albany — and that’s a contest,” Azzopardi told The Post. “It’s galling that she’s doing the same thing and is expecting everyone to look the other way.”
“If what I did was retaliation, what is this?” he added. “There’s no daylight between these two situations.”
The whistleblower at the center of the dispute is Daniel Wiesenfeld, a prosecutor in James’ Investor Protection Bureau. Wiesenfeld has claimed his manager told him to keep pursuing an insider trading case against Trump despite a lack of evidence of a crime. He has been at odds with his boss since August, when he blasted an email to over 2,000 colleagues claiming he was forced to investigate Trump, his family and his associates.
Last week, records obtained from the AG’s office by the Times Union via a Freedom of Information Law request revealed that Wiesenfeld had been “counseled” for performance issues including failing to participate in meetings or answer to supervisors. A prior June performance review noted that last year he was considered “hardworking, reliable (and) takes ownership of his cases” and had a “good attitude.” Wiesenfeld was first hired by the AG’s office in 2024.
In a Sept. 4 letter, Jenna Moran, the attorney general’s human resources director, formally notified Wiesenfeld that he was being terminated. “The agency is specifically aware that you e-mailed privileged and/or confidential information related to the work of OAG to your personal e-mail account,” Moran wrote. “Those e-mails and documents, as well as any records in your possession that may have been derived from such privileged and/or confidential information, must be destroyed or returned immediately.”
Wiesenfeld denied the documents were confidential and pushed back hard against the demand. “These documents are simply evidence and your threats will not compel me to destroy such evidence,” he wrote in an email exchange obtained by The Post from the AG’s office under Freedom of Information law. “If anything, carrying out your threats by bringing this to a legal forum will make this information public.”
Last week Wiesenfeld claimed he was being threatened by the AG’s office for refusing to delete evidence of the alleged corruption. He told The Post the push to dig dirt on Trump came directly from James. “Tish was the boss and what Tish wanted, Tish got,” he said. “So we had to keep going.”
Trump, who has had extensive legal fights with James, shared The Post’s exclusive interview with Wiesenfeld on his social media platforms.
James’ office defended its actions and dismissed Azzopardi’s criticism. “The Office of the Attorney General is duty bound to take disciplinary action when one of its attorneys violates the law, the New York Rules of Professional Conduct, or agency policy. Mr. Wiesenfeld was terminated for cause after it was determined that he committed such violations,” a spokesperson said. “We remain committed to enforcing New York’s laws and defending the rights of all New Yorkers. Any suggestion otherwise is disingenuous.”
The AG’s office said Wiesenfeld’s personnel files were released to the media in accordance with state FOIL, and that a review of his allegations that the office was pushing another probe of Trump were not substantiated. The office added that Wiesenfeld did not participate in the probe.
The Azzopardi parallel traces back to December 2020, when Lindsey Boylan, a former executive chamber staffer, tweeted that Cuomo “sexually harassed” her over her looks. Azzopardi responded by sending several reporters, including one from The Post, “confidential files” detailing workplace complaints against Boylan, along with a formal statement denying the allegations. He later testified that the release had been cleared by legal counsel. James’ investigative team hammered Azzopardi and others in Cuomo’s camp for the move, finding in her bombshell report that “regardless of the involvement of counsel, we find that the result of the Executive Chamber’s release of the Confidential Files related to Ms. Boylan constituted unlawful retaliation.” The report concluded that Cuomo, a Democrat, engaged in sexual misconduct and sent “a chilling message to other would be complainants.” The devastating findings triggered Cuomo’s resignation in 2021, though he continues to deny wrongdoing.
James, a Democrat seeking re-election to a third term, is facing Republican Saritha Komatireddy, a former federal prosecutor, in the upcoming election.