Vice President Kamala Harris greatly inflated her record as a prosecutor during her first campaign for public office, ABC News reported.
While running for San Francisco district attorney in 2003, Harris' campaign sent out mailers claiming she had "thirteen years of courtroom experience" with a "long track record of being an outstanding public prosecutor."
"Kamala has tried hundreds of serious and violent felonies, including homicide, rape, and child sexual assault cases," stated the mailer, copies of which ABC News obtained.
However, during a debate, opponent Bill Fazio, a veteran criminal defense attorney, accused Harris of misleading voters about her record as a prosecutor and deputy district attorney in California's Alameda County.
"How many cases have you tried? Can you tell us how many serious felonies you have tried? Can you tell us one?" Fazio asked Harris, according to audio of the debate.
"I've tried about 50 cases, Mr. Fazio, and it's about leadership," Harris responded.
Fazio then cited Harris' claim of a more extensive prosecutorial record.
"Ms. Harris, why does your information, which is still published, say that you tried hundreds of serious felonies? I think that's misleading. I think that's disingenuous. I think that shows that you are incapable of leadership and you're not to be trusted," Fazio said. "You continue to put out information which says you have tried hundreds of serious felonies."
Harris won the election by defeating incumbent District Attorney Terence Hallinan 56% to 44% in a runoff, The San Francisco Standard reported.
The vice president's past is in the news because she is the Democratic Party's presidential nominee running against Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Some 2003 campaign literature said Harris had "prosecuted" hundreds of cases.
"A prosecutor prosecuting the case means that they were the attorney on the case where someone were facing charges. When you have tried a case, that means that case is going to trial," ABC News legal contributor Brian Buckmire said.
"So the number of prosecuting cases should be a higher number than trying a case, because you may have a case that doesn't go to trial because the person takes a plea, the case get dismissed, whatever may be, you still prosecute that case. But you only tried a case that has gone to trial."
A veteran litigator in San Francisco told ABC News that Harris' claim she had "tried" hundreds of cases was misleading.
"When you say you tried cases, that means you went to the courtroom and took that to trial, either a court trial or a jury trial," the litigator told the outlet.
After ABC News asked the Harris campaign about the candidate's prosecutorial experience before she became DA, a spokesperson used slightly different language to describe her record.
Spokesperson James Singer said Harris had been "involved in" hundreds of cases.
"Vice President Harris oversaw and was involved in the prosecution of hundreds of serious crimes before she was elected District Attorney of San Francisco," Singer told ABC News.
"For more than a decade, she prosecuted child sexual assault cases, homicides, and robberies in Alameda, before overseeing the career criminal unit and served as the head of division on families and children in the San Francisco District Attorney's Office."
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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