When Letitia James spoke before a collection of firefighters in support of newly appointed FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, her speech was drowned out by booing and chants of “Trump” from the angry firefighters in the crowd. Rumors then emerged that the department was trying to track down those officers who booed AG James so that it could “educate” them.
As background, AG Letitia James is the one who went after former President Donald Trump for what she claimed was fraud in his loan applications, where he apparently overstated the worth of his real estate holdings for the purpose of obtaining more favorable loan terms. Trump’s team maintains that the practice is common puffery and that he paid the loans back in full, so no one was harmed. Trump lost the case and now owes more than $400 million.
In any case, an FDNY spokesperson recently told Fox News that there is no investigation into firefighters booing AG James at the event, saying, “At no point has there been an investigation into members booing.” That appears to contradict alleged internal documents that emerged after the incident in which the FDNY made clear that those who booed were being sought.
In one such alleged internal document, FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens appears to have said, “BITS is investigating this, so they will figure out who the members are. I recommend they come forward. I have been told by the Commissioner it will be better for them if they come forward, and we don’t have to hunt them down.”
In a similar statement indicating that those documents were real, FDNY spokesman Jim Long told Fox News Digital, “We’re looking into those who clearly broke department regulations. It has nothing to do with politics. It’s about professionalism at an official event held in a house of worship.”
But now, as indicated by the statement to Fox News, the department is softening its tune. A spokesperson for FDNY said, “FDNY leadership is having ongoing conversations with our members about decorum during department events to ensure we are upholding the core values that make the FDNY the greatest fire department in the world.” That spokesperson continued, “Being a NYC firefighter is an honor, and we will continue to impress upon our members that their actions impact everyone who wears the uniform.”
Watch James get booed here:
Staten Island attorney Louis Gelormino offered to represent any firefighter under investigation for the incident pro-bono, spoke about it and the FDNY’s alleged reaction to the incident to Fox News. He said, “I think they were making a mountain out of a mole hill.”
He continued, “Let’s put this into perspective: It was a smattering of boos when Letitia James took the stage. It wasn’t a real outpouring. It was a smattering at best. And then it was about 15 or 20 seconds of Trump chants. That’s it.”
Gelormino added, “I think they will both look like the bigger people if they handle it that way,” meaning by not launching a formal investigation. He added, “We’re prepared to fight if they’re not going to handle it that way. Or, hopefully, if that’s the case and the fire department can move on and everybody can move on and do what they intended to do, which is to protect the people of New York City, which the men and women of New York City Fire Department do incredibly well.”
Featured image credit: By Er-nay – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=67718860
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