The Left's Beef With Beef

The complaint makes clear that James' goal isn't to get JBS to refine its advertising. She wants to put beef producers out of business.

Citing a United Nations report, James argues that reducing emissions "cannot be eliminated through existing or anticipated technology. Instead, scientists point to the need to reduce production of and demand for ruminant meat, including beef."

James complains that "the JBS group plans to do the opposite. The JBS Group forecasts increased demand for its products over the coming decades, and it intends to meet that demand."

So what is JBS's crime? Growing, instead of caving to the Left and closing down.

James' lawsuit is a warning to businesses not to expect impartial justice. She's targeting the politically disfavored for extinction. It will mean publicity for her but millions of dollars in defense costs for her victims.

Where is the New York State Bar Association, which pledges to uphold the integrity of our legal system and discipline lawyers who bring frivolous lawsuits? Rule 3.1 of the NYSBA Code of Conduct defines a frivolous lawsuit as one having "no reasonable purpose except to harass or maliciously injure." That's the JBS lawsuit to a tee. Shame on the NYSBA for lacking the spine to denounce it.

Since 2019, hundreds of businesses, including major financial institutions, have fled New York because of high taxes, regulations and crime. James' legal vendettas will turn the business community's exodus into a stampede.

Meanwhile, the city is suffering a surge in pedestrian assaults, subways attacks and retail theft. Instead of suing JBS, James should be calling for the repeal of the state's insane bail "reform" and the removal of pro-criminal district attorneys like Alvin Bragg.

Can James be removed from office? Technically, yes -- by a two-thirds vote of the state Senate, on the recommendation of the governor. But in New York's one-party rule, that won't happen.

It's up to the legal community to stand up to James and demand the impartial, apolitical administration of justice. Without it, New York's economy cannot survive.

New York has produced legal greats like Benjamin Cardozo and Thurgood Marshall. Don't let James trash the rule of law here and turn the Empire State into a banana republic.

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Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey. To find out more about Betsy McCaughey and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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