In 2014, Kamala Harris had a difficult decision to make. Harris was then California’s attorney general, and I was a member of her leadership team, working closely with her on an almost daily basis.
Months earlier, she had decided to bring criminal extortion charges against a man who operated a website that posted sexually explicit images without their subjects’ consent. His lawyer was asking the judge to toss the case.
The stakes were high. This was a first-of-its-kind case, so the legal landscape was uncertain. We knew that a loss would hinder future prosecutors’ efforts to take on these kinds of crimes. One member of our team recommended that Harris agree to a no-jail plea deal, in order to not create a damaging precedent for similar cases to come.
I’ll always remember watching Harris wrestle with her decision. She had a reputation for pragmatic and information-driven decisions, and she proved it here. She sought out expert opinions; she read in-depth briefings prepared by her staff; she welcomed and heard dissenting views. She didn’t shy away from the hard choice — she embraced it.
In the end, Harris chose to move forward. She was right to do so. The defendant was found guilty in the nation’s first criminal prosecution of a cyber-exploitation website operator. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison, and his conviction formed an important foundation for other cybercrime prosecutions that Harris pursued throughout her tenure as attorney general.
America is about to make a judgment about who we want serving as our president. All the voters will have their own criteria for leadership — what they want to see in the person our nation entrusts to make the hardest decisions anyone can be asked to make.
If you are still undecided and you value information-driven decision making and mental toughness, take it from someone who saw Harris work up close: She is the right choice for your vote.
When I worked with her, I saw Olympic-level strength and resilience, truly the kind you expect in professional athletes. It’s what let her handle the constant pressure-cooker that is the job of the state attorney general. As you might imagine, very few simple or straight-forward decisions land on the desk of the attorney general — easier matters are usually decided by staff that run day-to-day operations. Harris was routinely confronted with the need to make choices that were both difficult and high stakes. This is reality for those who take on the responsibility of governing.
Harris never let ideology or partisanship cloud her judgment. Her apolitical decision-making focused on the facts. I was deeply impressed with her ability to assimilate and assess data, weigh facts and values, and make swift, fair and effective decisions. I watched her apply this pragmatic and evidence-based approach to tackle a wide range of issues: criminal justice reform, consumer protection, civil rights, health care, privacy, public safety and more.
There’s a critical benefit to her decision-making approach: It works. When confronted with a risky or unclear path forward, such as in that cybercrime case, her successful results speak for themselves.
In my time working for Harris, I learned so much about her. She’s blessed with an ability to see the world for what it is, not as she or others wish it to be. She has a strong sense of integrity and justice that guides her actions, fueled by a powerful moral compass that’s founded in her commitment to the rule of law and the Constitution.
And she has a respect for the dignity and rights of every person, which is reflected in her record of fighting for the most vulnerable and marginalized members of our society, such as victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, human trafficking, hate crimes and discrimination.
Finally, let me speak directly to fellow members of the Jewish community who may have concerns about Harris. My personal experiences leave me with no question in my mind that she has the grit to stand up to antisemitism and violent extremism here and abroad, and to support our allies (including Israel) against formidable adversaries. She has and will continue to be a fierce and effective advocate of American values and an adversary of evil. She will not tolerate hatred, violence or bigotry of any kind, whether it comes from within or outside our borders.
The choice couldn’t be clearer. As someone who personally saw Kamala Harris make hard decisions with wisdom, discipline and strength, I strongly believe we would be fortunate to have her as our next president.
Jeff Rabkin served in the California attorney general’s office and was a federal prosecutor in New York City and San Francisco. He is now a partner at a global law firm. His views as expressed here are not necessarily those of any employer or other institution.
