DSA Assembly candidate changes his defense of Bondi internship

No, MAGA former Attorney General Pam Bondi was never a lefty hero fighting to overturn unjust convictions – no matter what Assembly candidate Conrad Blackburn suggested. 

The Manhattan Democratic socialist changed his campaign website after City & State asked about a section that spun the work he did as an intern for Bondi a decade ago. It originally said he interned in “the AG’s criminal appeals division where he worked to overturn convictions." Of course, the AG’s office is really working to uphold convictions on behalf of the state – as Blackburn, now a public defender, surely knows. 

As of Tuesday, Blackburn’s site now says “he worked to inspect and ensure the integrity of convictions assigned by his supervisors” – which is still a friendly spin on the work of the office. But Blackburn spokesperson Kat Kerwin said that he would sometimes argue to his supervisors “to consider overturning convictions in some cases.” 

“Conrad's supervisors at the Florida AG’s office encouraged him to become a public defender,” she added. “That should tell you what you need to know about how he showed up as an intern.”

Blackburn got a little overzealous defending himself, after super PAC Moving Harlem Forward ran an ad attacking him for his 2016 internship, trying to paint him as a criminal justice hypocrite. 

Endorsed by NYC-DSA, Blackburn is seeking to unseat Assembly Member Jordan Wright – grandson of the famously lenient Judge “Cut-’em-Loose Bruce” Wright.