A bureau chief in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office, accused of seeking damaging information about President Trump, previously sued his administration over alleged discrimination — and secured a substantial settlement.
A bureau chief in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office, accused of seeking damaging information about President Trump, previously sued his administration over alleged discrimination — and secured a substantial settlement.
Shamiso Maswoswe, chief of the Investor Protection Bureau, allegedly directed a prosecutor to pursue individuals and organizations “affiliated with Donald Trump.” Court records show she also filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice, claiming the first Trump administration discriminated against her based on race, sex and child care responsibilities.
In the 2021 complaint, Maswoswe alleged that Trump’s DOJ wrongfully fired her in December 2017 because she is a Black woman and because she needed to care for her premature baby while continuing to work.
“The [DOJ] Public Integrity Section terminated Ms. Maswoswe on the same day that she completed a successful sentencing hearing in the aftermath of her large and highly publicized jury trial victory,” the complaint stated. “Ms. Maswoswe and her colleagues at the Public Integrity Section were celebrating her victory when she received notice that she was being summoned to meet with Human Resources.”
Federal court records in Washington, DC, show Maswoswe reached a $795,000 settlement in 2023, during the Biden administration and before Trump returned to the White House.
Mawoswe is now immersed in controversy after a prosecutor in her office, former Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Matthew Wiesenfeld, claimed in a since-deleted email to some 2,000 colleagues that she told him to target Trump and his political allies, as first reported by the Times-Union.
“If you believe Trump is using the [Department of Justice] attorneys to prosecute his enemies and further his political interests, you should fine it equally troubling that Tish [James] is doing exactly the same thing,” Wiesenfeld allegedly wrote in the Friday email.
“I ask you that you not serve as Tish’s personal attorneys by targeting her political enemies.”
Wiesenfeld was placed on paid administrative leave and has not spoken publicly about the issue.
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In a statement Sunday, the attorney general’s office called it “a personnel matter,” and said it is committed to protecting New Yorkers “regardless of political beliefs.
“We strongly reject any assertion to the contrary,” the statement said.
Trump and James have been at odds for years, with the attorney general vowing during her 2018 campaign to “prosecute the president for crimes committed in New York state” if she was elected.
In 2024, the AG’s office won a $360 million civil case against Trump, his sons and his former company for overstating Big Apple property values and lying about his wealth — a case that was later upheld on appeal but without the massive financial payout.
Trump has cited the case as just one example of James’ attempts to target him unfairly.
Maswoswe, who joined James’ office in February 2022, had been hired by the DOJ in January 2016, and gave birth to her premature baby in November that year, according to the court papers.
“Ms. Maswoswe’s child was born premature and with health complications, and she was under doctors’ instructions to ensure that her child was fed breast milk,” the complaint said.
She said that medical requirement rubbed her bosses the wrong way, although she maintained caring for her child did not interfere with her work, which included several high-profile court victories.
The settlement in her 2021 lawsuit was signed on April 20, 2023, during the Biden administration.