There’s been a lot of discussion about crime in the race for New York’s attorney general — but not the violation of law committed at the attorney general’s office earlier this year.

The state attorney general’s office for years has collected financial documents from nonprofit organizations. Under former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the agency took a dangerous step and began demanding these groups — including churches, synagogues and others — turn over lists with the names and home addresses of their donors. Attorney General Letitia James continued the practice when she took office in 2019.

The state never had any defensible reason for collecting these, which is why many groups (including the Empire Center) refused to share them.

But the groups that complied found a worse fate awaited them. At least one of them, the nonprofit Stand for America, had their good behavior rewarded by having their donor list leaked illegally to a journalist.

Read the full op-ed in the New York Daily News.