Advisers to President Trump have
discussed the possibility of giving Mayor Eric Adams of New York City a
position in the administration as a way to clear the field in November’s
mayoral election and damage the chances of the Democratic front-runner,
Zohran Mamdani, according to three people with knowledge of the
discussions.
The talks have also involved finding a possible place in the administration for the Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa.
The
goal, the people said, would be to give former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo a
better chance of defeating Mr. Mamdani in November’s general election.
Let's be clear about this: Donald Trump and his Evil Minions™ are not concerned that Zohran Mamdani is going to do bad things to New York and screw things up, they are terrified that Mamdami will succeed in making New York City a better place, and that this could lead to more people trying to make their states, cities, and towns a better place.
They are terrified at the idea that government might work for ordinary people.
It appears that someone was browsing MySpace instead of listening to the lecture in Corruption 101:
A former top City Hall advisor and current campaign confidante to Mayor Eric Adams attempted to give money to a reporter from THE CITY following a campaign event in Harlem Wednesday.
The failed payoff — a wad of cash in a red envelope stuffed inside an opened bag of Herr’s Sour Cream & Onion ripple potato chips — was made by Winnie Greco, a longtime Adams ally who resigned last year from her position as the mayor’s liaison to the Asian community after she was targeted in multiple investigations. She resurfaced recently as a consistent presence in his re-election campaign.
On Wednesday, City Hall reporter Katie Honan spotted Greco near the announcement of the opening of Adams’ newest campaign office, in Harlem. Greco later texted Honan after the event when she spotted her again and asked her to meet across the street from the campaign office next to a TD Bank. Greco and Honan walked to the Whole Foods next door. While inside the store, Greco handed Honan the opened bag of chips with the top crumpled closed. Honan, thinking it was an offer of a light snack, told Greco more than once she could not accept the chips, but Greco insisted that she keep them.
The two parted ways. Before entering a nearby subway station, Honan opened the bag and discovered a red envelope inside stuffed with cash, at least one $100 bill and several $20 bills. The reporter then called Greco and told her she could not accept the money and asked if she was still nearby so she could give it back. Greco said she’d left the area. Honan told her she had to take the money back, and Greco said they could meet at some point in Chinatown.
The reporter then texted Greco, “I can’t take this, when can I give it back to you?” She did not get a response.
In an interview later Wednesday, THE CITY asked Greco what her intention was in handing money to the reporter. In response, she said she’d made “a mistake” and apologized over and over.
“I make a mistake,” she said. “I’m so sorry. It’s a culture thing. I don’t know. I don’t understand. I’m so sorry. I feel so bad right now. I’m so sorry, honey.”
She then called THE CITY back, advising that we call her attorney, Steven Brill, and adding, “Can we forget about this? I try to be a good
person. Please. Please. Please don’t do in the news nothing about me.”
Not only the lamest bribe attempt ever, but also the lamest attempt an alibi ever.
It's a complete mind-f%$# but in comparison, Andrew Cuomo looks good when compared to Eric Adams.
If anything characterizes the the political career of Bill Clinton, it is his unwavering support for the corrupt Democratic Party establishment (There is no Democratic Party establishment).
While not personally corrupt, his tolerance of, and willful blindness to, corruption from people percieved as his allies.
This was the case in Arkansas, this was the case in the White House, and this was the case with the Clinton Foundation.
Unethical but legal and willfully blindness, has always been Clinton's modus operandi.
Mayor Eric Adams declared Thursday he will be skipping the Democratic
primary in June and running for reelection as an independent candidate in
November.
The announcement came just hours after the federal
corruption case against the mayor was permanently dismissed . In
a brief video
announcing the decision, the mayor said the case made it impossible to mount
a run in the June primary.
Adams realizes that his electoral goose is cooked, so he will be running as an
independent.
Not a surprise, he is corrupt, self-important to the point of being
delusional, and just f%$#ing embarrassing.
FWIW, the New York City primary elections use ranked choice voting, (RCV) so I
don't see Cuomo winning the primary, because of the way that RCV works:
People rank their candidates from 1st to 5th choice, and on the first round,
everyone's 1st choice is counted, and the low vote getter is removed, and that
voter's 2nd choice votes are counted.
This procedure continues until a candidate has an absolute majority of the
vote, typically when there are only 2 or three candidates remaining.
I don't see Rat Faced Andy Cuomo ever reaching 50%, no matter how much money he raises. In no particular order:
He is seen as a vindictive bully, and no one who has ever been one of his victims wants him to have power ever again.
He killed thousands in nursing homes and covered it up during the height of the Covid pandemic.
Adams was guilty as hell, and the Trump administration tried to have the charges dismissed without prejudice, meaning that they could refile at any time, and so use this as a way to coerce the Mayor to do their bidding. The judge was having none of this, and dismissed the charges with prejudice, meaning that double jeopardy applies, and so the prosecutors cannot refile charges:
………
This is one of the small victories, even if it — at first glance — it appears to be a win for the Trump Administration. The indictment against NYC Mayor Eric Adams — stemming from a corruption case that managed to ensnare pretty much all of his closest government confidants — has been dismissed by Judge Dale Ho.
This dismissal event was highly controversial. Once Trump took office, he directed the DOJ to dismiss the case against the mayor. This immediately prompted the resignation of the DOJ prosecutors who had brought the criminal charges. Trump’s preferred DOJ officials publicly pilloried the prosecutors that chose to walk, rather than undermine their ethics. Then Trump’s careerist prosecutors took over, raising a litany of bad faith arguments as to why Eric Adams should be allowed to walk.
Trump wanted Adams to walk, but only while being manipulated by puppet strings. Trump wanted to ensure the mayor would go all in on his anti-immigrant efforts and figured being given a free pass on criminal charges might purchase enough loyalty to get him through the next four years.
So, it might seem that dismissing the charges with prejudice would just be another example of a court failing to act as a check on executive power. But Judge Dale Ho’s dismissal [PDF] makes it clear he’s unhappy with Trump’s DOJ. More than that, this dismissal ensures Adams can’t be prosecuted for these charges, even if the mayor decides he’s not going to be Trump’s puppet.
Trump’s DOJ wants to have both the carrot and the stick. Judge Ho says the court will allow the carrot, but will be confiscating the stick. Here’s how that’s explained in the opening of Ho’s comprehensive, 78-page dismissal:
A critical feature of DOJ’s Motion is that it seeks dismissal without prejudice—that is, DOJ seeks to abandon its prosecution of Mayor Adams at this time, while reserving the right to reinitiate the case in the future. DOJ does not seek to end this case once and for all. Rather, its request, if granted, would leave Mayor Adams under the specter of reindictment at essentially any time, and for essentially any reason.
The Court declines, in its limited discretion under Rule 48(a), to endorse that outcome. Instead, it dismisses this case with prejudice—meaning that the Government may not bring the charges in the Indictment against Mayor Adams in the future. In light of DOJ’s rationales, dismissing the case without prejudice would create the unavoidable perception that the Mayor’s freedom depends on his ability to carry out the immigration enforcement priorities of the administration, and that he might be more beholden to the demands of the federal government than to the wishes of his own constituents. That appearance is inevitable, and it counsels in favor of dismissal with prejudice.
Now, the DOJ is stuck with its politically opportunistic dismissal. If Mayor Adams decides to push back against Trump (however unlikely that is), he has nothing to fear from Trump’s DOJ. At best, they’d have to start over from scratch and find some other set of criminal charges to levy against Adams for his disobedience.
I feel compelled to invoke Anatole France, "The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread."
The dismissal is an unequivocal win for Mayor Adams, but it is a loss for Trump and his Evil Minions™.
Needless to say, June 24 in New York City, primary day, is going to be very interesting.
I don't mean that he directed it, I mean that he was the one who changed the numbers himself.
If this is not a crime, then the law needs to be changed.
Actually, it is against the law, because he lied under oath to Congress about it, but that law only applies to little people, and not "Rat-Faced Andy" Cuomo:
Earlier this summer, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo squared off for a closed-door interview with seven members of a Republican-led congressional subcommittee investigating how New York handled the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Cuomo was asked repeatedly about a State Health Department report that deflected blame for the thousands of people who died of Covid at nursing homes in early 2020. Mr. Cuomo stood by the report and said he certainly did not review it and insisted he had no memory of seeing it before its release.
But a review of emails and congressional documents appears to show how Mr. Cuomo not only saw the report, but personally wrote parts of early drafts.
………
Mr. Cuomo apparently inserted language to underscore how “community spread among employees or possibly visitation by family and friends were relevant factors” that contributed to nursing home deaths.
“The larger text,” Ms. Kennedy noted, “is what he added.”
The email exchange among Mr. Cuomo’s aides, which was reviewed by The New York Times, was one of many sought by the Justice Department and a law firm retained by the State Assembly as it prepared to impeach Mr. Cuomo in 2021.
In another example cited in congressional documents, one of Mr. Cuomo’s top aides wrote an email on June 29, 2020, asking for someone to “please print two copies and drop at mansion,” referring to the State Health Department report and Mr. Cuomo’s Albany residence. A week later, the report was released with some of Mr. Cuomo’s revisions included.
Mr. Cuomo’s handling of the early stages of the pandemic initially brought him national attention and widespread praise, and became fodder for his memoir, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic.”
Now there is a book that has not aged well.
But as months passed, the state’s response began to draw critical scrutiny, with the more than 15,000 Covid-related deaths among nursing home residents emerging as a focal point. The Times reported in 2021 how top aides to Mr. Cuomo pushed to hide the number of deaths in state nursing homes during the early days of the pandemic.
………
The renewed focus on the state’s pandemic
response comes at what may be a politically sensitive moment for Mr.
Cuomo, who is said by some to be weighing a run for mayor of New York
City next year.
Those rumors have
intensified as controversies have surrounded the current mayor, Eric
Adams. Last week, the city’s police commissioner, Edward Caban, and Mr.
Adams’s counsel, Lisa Zornberg,
both quit after federal investigators sought information from or
searched the homes of several top officials and seized their phones,
including Mr. Caban’s.
As an aside, I have been following the whole Adams corruption investigations, keeping track of the various reports, and this has begun to resemble Fibber McGee's closet.
Rat Faced Andy may be the only person looking at a Mayoral run who is worse than Eric Adams, and Eric Adams may the most corrupt Mayor in New York history.
I have discussed how noncompete agreements lower wages and reduce the formation of businesses in an earlier post.
It is clear that Huchul values the wellbeing of her campaign donors over that of the people of New York:
Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill on Friday that would have banned the use of noncompete agreements in New York after a furious lobbying effort by Wall Street and other powerful industries that forcefully opposed the measure.
Democrats in control of the State Legislature passed the bill in June, wanting New York to join other states that have cracked down on the use of noncompete agreements, which companies use to bar employees from working for a competitor for a set amount of time after leaving a job.
The bill’s supporters argued that the agreements had unfairly trapped an array of workers, from hairstylists to engineers and doctors, who sign away their right to leave for a competitor.
………
Noncompete agreements have proliferated throughout the economy in recent years: Between 18 percent to 45 percent of workers in the private sector may be bound by them, according to surveys. Critics argue that the restrictive clauses prevent the free movement of labor and place an unfair burden on a constellation of workers, especially those who work low-wage, low-skilled jobs.
Governments have responded in kind. About half the nation’s states have imposed sharp limits on noncompete clauses, and some states, like Minnesota and California, have banned them altogether. Under President Biden, the Federal Trade Commission is exploring a national ban on companies requiring workers to sign the agreements.
………
But as its potential impact on New York City’s financial industry became clear, the state’s most powerful business groups quickly mobilized to oppose it. Among them were the Business Council and the Partnership for New York City, which represents big-name banks and investment firms such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Warning of the potentially dire effects the ban would have on a company’s ability to retain top employees in one of the most important financial capitals of the world, the groups used their money and clout to lobby the governor, pushing her to water down the bill to ensure it would not apply to the highest-earning workers.
And then there is this:
………
Ms. Hochul did sign a transparency bill that will require limited liability companies in New York to disclose their owners to the government and regulatory entities. But under the version of the bill that Ms. Hochul approved, the names of the owners will not become public in a searchable database as lawmakers originally intended.
So someone looks at the ownership data of fly-by-night scams only AFTER a crime has been committed. Sweet.
I think that there are a number of points to make here:
The position of Governor in New York is too powerful.
The Democratic Party of New York is has a Quisling problem.
Given the amount of power that the Governor has, I do not see how one could successfully primary Hochul, but it should be tried.
Also, look into her finances. Her hypocrisy might have crossed the line into actual legal corruption.
They overturned the conviction of former Andrew "Rat-Faced Andy" Cuomo aide:
The Supreme Court on Thursday reversed the conviction of Joseph Percoco, the manager of former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s re-election campaign who was sentenced to six years in prison after he took money in exchange for helping to facilitate a real estate development. Percoco was convicted of violating a federal fraud law that makes it a crime to deprive members of the public of the intangible right to “honest services.” But in a unanimous ruling, the justices threw out Percoco’s conviction, holding that the jury instructions used to convict him were too vague.
The ruling was the latest in a series of cases, dating back more than a decade, in which the justices have narrowed the reach of federal public-corruption laws.
Percoco spent nearly five years working as a senior aide to Cuomo in the governor’s office. But he was managing Cuomo’s re-election campaign in 2014 when a real estate developer paid him $35,000 for his help in avoiding having to enter into a “labor peace agreement” with local unions. Shortly before he officially returned to the governor’s office, Percoco called the head of a state development agency and urged him to let the development go forward without the agreement; just one day later, state officials reversed their decision that the developer needed to reach an agreement with the unions.
Before his 2018 trial, Percoco asked the judge to dismiss the “honest services” charge against him, arguing that a private citizen cannot be convicted of depriving the public of its right to honest services. The court rejected that request, and Percoco was convicted and sentenced to a total of six years in prison. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit upheld his conviction.
In an opinion by Justice Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court on Thursday threw out Percoco’s conviction. Like the lower courts before them, the justices declined to adopt a bright-line rule holding that private citizens can never have the kind of fiduciary responsibility to the public that would allow them to be held liable for depriving the public of its right to their honest services.
This sounds a lot like what Scalia, Thomas, Gorsuch, Alito, and Kavanaugh have been doing all these years.
To be fair, it was a unanimous decision, but the legal precedents were initially pushed by the most corrupt members of the court.
Were Cuomo in power, this audit would never a seen the light of day.
Stick a fork in "Rat Faced Andy". He is done:
The administration of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo failed to publicly account for the deaths of about 4,100 nursing home residents in New York during the pandemic, according to an audit released on Tuesday by the state comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli.
The audit found that Health Department officials at times underreported the full death toll by as much as 50 percent from April 2020 to February 2021, as Mr. Cuomo faced increasing scrutiny over whether his administration had intentionally concealed the actual number of deaths.
The 41-page report concluded that the Health Department often acquiesced to the narrative Mr. Cuomo and his top officials wanted to promote during the pandemic, sometimes failing to meet its “ethical” and “moral” imperatives to act transparently.
“Our audit findings are extremely troubling,” Mr. DiNapoli said in a statement. “The public was misled by those at the highest level of state government through distortion and suppression of the facts when New Yorkers deserved the truth.”
………
The audit marks the third state inquiry to corroborate how Mr. Cuomo’s administration significantly downplayed the number of nursing home deaths during the pandemic. Those efforts coincided with Mr. Cuomo’s attempts to elevate his public image at the height of his national popularity in 2020, including through daily televised briefings and the publication of a book that burnished his response to the pandemic.
………
But the comptroller’s report refuted that assertion, finding that the administration was aware of the higher death toll and continued to withhold it even after it had apparently corrected most discrepancies by May 2020, a few months into the pandemic.
“Rather than providing accurate and reliable information during a public health emergency, the department instead conformed its presentation to the executive’s narrative, often presenting data in a manner that misled the public,” the report said.
………
The audit’s release comes as Mr. Cuomo is wading back into public life, seeking to rehabilitate his image after his resignation in August.
It sucks to be you, Andrew, Your political career is dead, you f%$#-head, You are going away, while the rest of us say, "Yay," You've been put on a shelf, so go f%$# yourself.
What can I say, it inspired me to compose the above doggerel.
Yesterday, when I mention that Tina Tchen had been forced out as CEO of Times Up, I did not notice, though the reporters at The Washington Post did, that she, and her partner in covering up for Andrew Cuomo, Roberta Kaplan, had a racket going.
Specifically while running the organization, both of them were scoring serious fees to protect problematic people and organizations from that same organization.
Atrios noted this,
and observed, "This is how the mafia operates. ……… Hire HABIT Advisors (run by me) to
tell you how to deal with nasty organizations like Time's Up (also run
by me)."
He called it, "Pizzo," the term for Mafia Protection money:
A former Chicago corporate lawyer who became first lady Michelle Obama’s chief of staff, Tchen has led the advocacy group focused on fighting workplace sexual misconduct since 2019. She co-founded the Time’s Up Legal Defense Fund with the attorney Roberta Kaplan, who resigned this month after New York Attorney General Letitia James uncovered some of her consultations with Cuomo advisers about the governor’s response to his first sexual harassment accuser, Lindsey Boylan.
Tchen also co-founded with Kaplan a private consulting company, HABIT Advisors, which focused on advising companies about how to handle sexual harassment. The website for that firm was taken offline in recent weeks.
It's quite a rabbit hole, and even to my jaded eyes, the corruption of these two stalwarts of the Democratic Party establishment (There is no Democratic Party establishment) absolutely buggers the mind.
It's a level of hypocrisy that would be embarrassing for any woman in the political sphere who is not firmly a part of the Talibaptist right, but even more so for the head of an organization dedicated to supporting victims of sexual harassment.
Additionally, her entire legal career has been centered around addressing issues of sexual discrimination in the workplace, so her entire professional life has been revealed as a lie.
Given her background, the White House Position, major fundraiser for the Obama Campaign, and Ivy League education, I am not surprised at the revelation that she is, after all, just another grasping snollygoster.
This toxic combination was an identifying characteristic of people who thrived in the Obama administration.
The chief executive of Time’s Up, the prominent anti-harassment charity, resigned on Thursday, the latest fallout in a crisis that threatens the organization’s survival.
For weeks, the group has been in upheaval over what some survivors of sexual abuse have called a fundamental betrayal: Its leaders appear to have allied more closely with former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who faces sexual harassment allegations from 11 women, than with the first accusers to come forward.
Tina Tchen, who had led the group since 2019, said in a statement that her “position at the helm of Time’s Up has become a painful and divisive focal point.”
By, "Dainful and divisive focal point," she means that she has been revealed to be a complete hypocrite, and that she was forced out.
………
Founded in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein revelations, backed by influential women including Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon, Time’s Up has been in what its own vice chair recently called an “existential crisis” over its mission. The board chair, Roberta Kaplan, also resigned over the Cuomo matter. Powerful backers like Shonda Rhimes have tried to rally support and reboot. Staff members have complained about lack of direction, and outside critics have questioned whether the organization has strayed from its founding motives.
………
The departure of Ms. Tchen — who served as Michelle Obama’s chief of staff in the White House — raises as many questions for Time’s Up as it resolves. She was a proponent of the organization’s initial, bold mission: for female power players to use their connections for good. In her departing statement, Ms. Tchen endorsed that approach again. “We cannot just shout on the outside for change without helping companies, government leaders and policymakers find the solutions to do better,” she said.
It hasn't strayed from its founding motives. It was about protecting, "Female power players," who, "Use their connections for good," people like ……… well ……… Tina Tchen, not lower level interns, staff, or members of the security detail for the powerful, and vengeful, governor of New York.
………
But when dealing with Mr. Cuomo’s office — and in other instances [WHAT OTHER INSTANCES? I WANT TO KNOW!] — that strategy proved compromising. Ms. Kaplan and Ms. Tchen provided feedback on an unpublished opinion column that smeared Mr. Cuomo’s first accuser, Lindsay Boylan. Ms. Kaplan, a lawyer, also consulted with a top Cuomo aide about how strong a stand Time’s Up should take on the allegations, The Times recently reported. And Ms. Tchen told colleagues to “stand down” from releasing a statement in support of Ms. Boylan, according to text messages obtained by The Washington Post.
This is why the hypocrite wing of the Democratic Party loses elections: It is painfully obvious that when it gets down to brass tacks, they talk the talk, but they will NEVER walk the walk.
Given all the things that he has done during his time as Governor, killing nursing home patients and covering it up, shutting down a corruption investigation that he initiated, actively working to keep Republicans in control of the State Senate, etc. it is remarkable just how long he has survived.
His political career is now over, and New York and the nation will be the better for it:
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York said on Tuesday that he would resign from office, succumbing to a ballooning sexual harassment scandal in an astonishing reversal of fortune for one of the nation’s best-known leaders.
Mr. Cuomo said his resignation would take effect in 14 days. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, will be sworn in to replace him, becoming the first woman in history to occupy New York State’s top office.
“Given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing,” Mr. Cuomo said in remarks streamed from his office in Midtown Manhattan. “And therefore, that’s what I’ll do.”
Mr. Cuomo’s dramatic fall was shocking in its velocity and vertical drop: A year ago, the governor was being hailed as a national hero for his steady leadership amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The resignation of Mr. Cuomo, 63, a three-term Democrat, came a week after a report from the New York State attorney general concluded that the governor sexually harassed nearly a dozen women, including current and former government workers, by engaging in unwanted touching and making inappropriate comments. The 165-page report also found that Mr. Cuomo and his aides unlawfully retaliated against at least one of the women for making her complaints public and fostered a toxic work environment.
It's the thing that Mr. Black says whenever a prominent member of the
mainstream media engages in actions so heinous that it buggers the mind.
In this case, he is referring to CNN host Chris "Fredo" Cuomo, who has avoided
covering his brother's problems with Covid mismanagement, sexual harassment,
and general corruption.
Not a thing for a prominent member of a journalistic enterprise to do,
particularly considering the fact that Chris likely has inside information on
things like which reporters are most likely to cover him favorably, etc.
If CNN were as serious about its Journalism as it was about its ratings, Cuomo
would have been fired today:
CNN anchor Chris Cuomo advised his brother, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo,
and senior members of the governor’s staff on how to respond to sexual
harassment allegations made earlier this year by women who had worked with
the governor, according to four people familiar with the discussions.
Cuomo,
one of the network’s top stars, joined a series of conference calls that
included the Democratic governor, his top aide, his communications team,
lawyers and a number of outside advisers, according to the people familiar
with the conversations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe
the private sessions.
………
The behind-the-scenes
strategy offered by Chris Cuomo, who anchors CNN’s 9 p.m. nightly newscast,
cuts against the widely accepted norm in journalism that those reporting the
news should not be involved in politics.
“If you are actively
advising a politician in trouble while being an on-air host on a news
network, that’s not okay,” said Nicholas Lemann, a professor at Columbia
Journalism School and a New Yorker staff writer.
"Not okay ," is putting this mildly.
In a statement, CNN acknowledged that Chris Cuomo took part in the strategy
sessions, saying his involvement was a mistake.
………
The
network said Cuomo will not be disciplined.
He should be fired ……… Out of a cannon ……… And into the sun.
CNN should have taken Fredo out for a ride on their boat.
Falsifying official government documents is a crime, and you can be pretty dam sure that hizzonner knew.
The response to this news should be the AG opening a criminal investigation:
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s top advisers successfully pushed state health officials to strip a public report of data showing that more nursing-home residents had died of Covid-19 than the administration had acknowledged, according to people with knowledge of the report’s production.
………
The changes Mr. Cuomo’s aides and health officials made to the nursing-home report, which haven’t been previously disclosed, reveal that the state possessed a fuller accounting of out-of-facility nursing-home deaths as early as the summer. The Health Department resisted calls by state and federal lawmakers, media outlets and others to release the data for another eight months.
No, they falsified their reports.
That is a very different. and quite illegal, thing.
State officials now say more than 15,000 residents of nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities were confirmed or presumed to have died from Covid-19 since March of last year—counting both those who died in long-term-care facilities and those who died later in hospitals. That figure is about 50% higher than earlier official death tolls.
………
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn asked the Cuomo administration in February for information about nursing-home deaths, The Wall Street Journal has reported. Federal prosecutors expressed interest in the July report, people familiar with the matter said.
Cuomo has aided and abbeted corruption as a way to further his power for over a decade, see the convictions of New York House Speaker Sheldon Silver and New York Senate leader Dean Skelos for corruption, as well as his actions to shut down his own anti-corruption commission, the Moreland Commission, when it too close to him and his.
In response to questions from the Journal, administration officials said Thursday that Mr. Cuomo’s advisers advocated against including data on out-of-facility deaths because they had concerns about its accuracy.
Concerns about accuracy, my ass. This was a coverup to maximize Cuomo's political advantage as he attempted to sell himself to the American public as "Governor Covid".
………
State lawmakers from both parties have said the out-of-facility death data was critical for them to evaluate nursing-home policies that could prevent future fatalities. They said the Cuomo administration’s decision to delay its release constitutes a coverup of data the governor knew would be damaging to his political stature.
………
The Justice Department, through its Civil Rights Division, began requesting information about nursing-home deaths from New York and other Democratic-leaning states in August.
………
The initial version of the report submitted to Mr. Cuomo’s team for review included both data on deaths of nursing-home residents in hospitals and deaths of residents inside nursing homes, people familiar with the report’s production said.
………
In January, a report by the New York Attorney General said the state had undercounted nursing-home deaths and said the governor’s directive may have spread the disease.
It's corruption all the way down, and I really would like to see Governor Cuomo become defendant Cuomo.
It looks like people are starting to look at Rat-Face Andy's record as governor during the Corona Virus, and his heroic façade is is curmbling.
It's good to see the world to come around to my point of the view about the Governor of New York:
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo made it very clear who was in charge as the coronavirus began to infiltrate his state. The governor — in near-daily nationally televised appearances — said he would make difficult but necessary choices to contain the spread and would take the blame for any negative effects on New Yorkers' lives. “The buck stops on my desk,” Cuomo said to both a New York and national audience on March 17, after ordering bars and restaurants to close across the state. “Your local mayor did not close your restaurants, your bars, your gyms or your schools. I did. I did. I assume full responsibility. ... If you are upset by what we have done, be upset at me.” Two and a half months into the crisis, Cuomo’s take-charge attitude has begun to soften. The governor, who gained legions of fans for his briefings that blended an authoritative tone with a personal touch, is increasingly on the defensive — and casting blame on the federal government and its guidance. ……… The limelight's fade coincides with mounting scrutiny of New York state's response to the crisis, particularly in nursing homes, where more than 5,700 residents have died from Covid-19. A growing body of research is finding that earlier shutdown measures could have averted many of the state's more than 23,700 fatalities. “It’s ludicrous. You can’t one day say you can blame me and the buck stops with me, and the next day pass the buck to anyone besides yourself,” said Assembly Member Ron Kim (D-Queens), who has previously clashed with Cuomo. ……… The limelight's fade coincides with mounting scrutiny of New York state's response to the crisis, particularly in nursing homes, where more than 5,700 residents have died from Covid-19. A growing body of research is finding that earlier shutdown measures could have averted many of the state's more than 23,700 fatalities. “It’s ludicrous. You can’t one day say you can blame me and the buck stops with me, and the next day pass the buck to anyone besides yourself,” said Assembly Member Ron Kim (D-Queens), who has previously clashed with Cuomo. ……… The governor has drawn particular criticism for his policy of sending recovering Covid-19 patients to nursing homes, which he effectively reversed this month — even as he denied the change was a reversal at all. State officials say the nature of the fast-moving and unprecedented crisis forced the state to follow national guidance on the issue. ……… Manhattan Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, a Democrat and chair of the Assembly’s health committee, is among state lawmakers calling for an independent investigation of the state's handling of the outbreak in nursing homes. He says the blame rests largely on decades of ignoring issues that became more acute during the pandemic. “The federal government never told New York to tolerate low staffing levels in nursing homes or to have a lax or understaffed enforcement of health and safety safeguards in nursing homes,” Gottfried said. “The executive branch — going back decades — has done that all by itself.”
Cuomo was behind de Blasio on addressing this, and Bill de Blasio was just plain late to the pandemic, and Cuomo's antipathy to the Mayor of New York further hamstrung the response.
Additionally, he has turned the emergency legislation into yet another orgy of cronyism and corruption.
If, as some have suggested, Cuomo is the Democratic Party savior, then the Democratic Party is beyond saving.
One of the losers in Tuesday’s election is the charter school movement, which lost a big and reliable advocate when Republicans gave up control of the majority to Democrats in the State Senate, both sides said.
“There’s no question it’s going to be challenging,” said Robert Bellafiore, a consultant who works with charter schools. He also was part of the team under former Gov. George Pataki that authorized charter schools in 1998.
The strongest backer of charter schools now is Democratic Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who wields extraordinary power in crafting state budgets under New York law.
………
“This is a moment for charter schools,” said Andy Pallotta, president of New York State United Teachers, which has opposed expansion of charter schools and seeks greater transparency of their operations. “I think they lost their influence in the Capitol.”
Senate Democrats wouldn't say what their plans are for charter schools or if the new majority would support any expansion.
Here's a thought for New York Democrats: Pass a law that requires that charter schools to be subject to the state Freedom of Information Act. (FOIA)
Any time someone does a deep dive into charter school operations, corruption and malfeasance are always uncovered, so making it easier for parents, journalists, and activists to peruse their books will result in greater accountability.
In terms of the Senate, the Democratic incumbents who lost, Donnelly, McKaskill, and Heitkamp, were profoundly weak tea.
I wish that Manchin was included in that list, because while I understand that the dynamics of the Democratic Party tends to promote narcissistic preeners who are basically useless (the aforementioned Donnelly, McKaskill, and Heitkamp), they should never promote Disloyal Democrats.
Also Bob Menendez, because he's corrupt as hell and would be in jail but for the Supreme Court making it impossible to prosecute politicians for corruption.
The only bright side in terms of incumbents being turfed out was Dean Heller of Nevada.
On the House side, there is a bright side, Dwems retaking the house, David Brat being defeated in VA, as did Dana Rohrabacher in California, and Pete "The Stupidest Motherf%$#er in Texas" Sessions.
On the not so bright side, you have Duncan Hunter, Jr., who won even though he is under indictment for embezzling campaign funds, and virulent racist Steven King (R-IA) won narrowly.
In governor's races, the Democrats picked up 7 seats nationwide, but none pleased me more than the loss of Scott Walker.
Florida and Georgia are still technically in play, but I won't hold my breath
In state houses, about 300 seats were picked up by Dems, erasing about 1/3 of the seats they lost under Obama.
Also, 7 state houses flipped, most notably the New York State Senate, whose Republican Senate was decisively flipped, much to the chagrin of Andrew "Rat Faced Andy" Cuomo, who has tried to ensure Republican control so that he won't have to veto progressive legislation. (See Democrats, disloyal)
We also had a fair number of initiatives.
Anti-abortion initiatives in West Virginia and Alabama passed, and failed in Oregon.
Three initiates in California were defeated under a deluge of Wall Street money, price controls in response to profiteering by dialysis clinics, and a public bank for Los Angeles were deleted.
Redistricting reform passed everywhere it was on the ballot, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri and Utah, along with a sort-of redistricting reform in Ohio.
Weed also did well, with victories in Michigan, Missouri, Utah, and North Dakota.
Medicaid expansion was on the ballot in 4 states, with it passing in 3 states. ( Idaho, Nebraska, and Utah, and a loss in Montana)
There are also three new Democratic governors who will likely implement the policy.
On criminal justice reform, there were some significant ballot measures passed, most notably restoring voting rights to 1½ million felons in the Florida, which should make a difference in future elections.
Louisiana repealed a Jim Crow law that allowed for 10-2 guilty verdicts for most felonies.
Washington passed changes to standards for police shootings, so prosecutors no longer have to show actual malice.
All in all, last night was not good as I had hoped, but not as bad as I had feared.
My only question now is, "How will Nancy Pelosi f%$# this up?"
The most important choice facing New York voters this fall is whom they will pick as their next state attorney general. The office could be the last line of defense against an antidemocratic president, a federal government indifferent to environmental and consumer protection and a state government in which ethics can seem a mere inconvenience. Even in the best of times the office plays a critical role, policing fraud on Wall Street and ensuring enforcement of state and federal laws, from regulating the financial system to preventing employment discrimination. Its influence is felt across the nation. These are not the best of times. With the right leadership, the office could serve as a firewall if President Trump pardons senior aides, dismisses the special counsel, Robert Mueller, or attacks the foundations of state power. Only a handful of American institutions are equipped to resist such assaults on constitutional authority, and the New York attorney general’s office, with 650 lawyers and a history of muscular law enforcement, is one of them. The next attorney general will have a full docket in New York as well. Albany has long been a chamber of ethical horrors. In March, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s former senior aide Joseph Percoco was convicted on corruption charges. In May, former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, was also convicted of corruption. In July, the former Republican Senate majority leader, Dean Skelos, was convicted of bribery, extortion and conspiracy. Prosecutors said he used his office to pressure businesses to pay his son $300,000 for no-show jobs. The same month, Alain Kaloyeros, a key figure behind Mr. Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” economic initiative, was convicted in a bid-rigging scheme. ……… From a refreshingly strong field competing in the Democratic primary, to be held on Sept. 13, the best candidate is Zephyr Teachout, an independent-minded lawyer unusually well prepared to curb abuses of power and restore integrity and pride to this office. Ms. Teachout waged a strong primary challenge against Mr. Cuomo four years ago, lending her additional credibility and distance from a governor who remains all too cozy with the donors, contractors, union leaders and influence peddlers who dominate Albany and beyond. ……… New York needs a great lawyer. We believe that Democrats who are seeking a means of standing up to the Trump presidency and graft in Albany can find in Ms. Teachout their most effective champion for democracy and civil rights, good government and the environment, workers’ rights, fair housing and gender equality.
(emphasis mine)
I think that part of the reason for this endorsement is the above not-so-subtle diss of Cuomo as well.
I think that if Teachout ends up AG, she will have a remarkably hostile relationship with the Governor, and that's a good thing.
I agree with their sentiment, but I disagree with their reasoning.
Andrew Cuomo is a politically powerful incumbent, and I think that going against him requires more than ideological differences, even if they are major differences.
Why I support Ms. Nixon, and why I think that all Democrats, regardless of ideology, should support her is slightly different: (Apologies to the unknown author of Dayenu)
I think that one can support a conservative Democrat.
I think that one can support a conservative Democrat who swims in a sea of corruption as a fish swims in the ocean. (Absent an indictment)
I think that one can support a conservative Democrat who swims in a sea of corruption as a fish swims in the ocean, and embraces pay-to-play politics and opposes campaign finance reform.
I think that one can support a conservative Democrat who swims in a sea of corruption as a fish swims in the ocean, and embraces pay-to-play politics and opposes campaign finance reform, who balances the budget on the backs of the poor and school children.
I think that one can support a conservative Democrat who swims in a sea of corruption as a fish swims in the ocean, and embraces pay-to-play politics and opposes campaign finance reform who balances the budget on the backs of the poor and school children, while he starves the city and mass transit to cut taxes for rich people.
I don't think that one should vote for him, but it is (barely) possible to justify supporting him.
Andrew Cuomo crosses a line though: He is not just a conservative Democrat, he is a DISLOYAL Democrat.
In order to avoid having to weigh in on progressive legislative proposals, he has aggressively worked to keep the state Senate in Republican hands, and this should cross a line even for the contemptible greed-heads who would otherwise support his policies. (I'm talking to you Chuck Schumer)
Call it the Joe Lieberman rule, and make it stick.
* It's a different Nixon, but it still makes me feel queasy.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's low-selling 2014 memoir netted him another $218,100 last year, pushing his total book payments to $783,000 over the past four years, according to his tax returns.
Cuomo's 2016 tax records, which his office made available for review Tuesday, showed the latest round of payments from HarperCollins, the major publisher that gave him a lucrative book deal in 2013.
The governor's memoir — "All Things Possible: Setbacks and Success in Politics in Life" — did not perform well: Just 3,200 copies sold since its release, including just 100 copies over the past two years, according to NPD Books, which tracks book sales nationwide.
It was a money-loser for HarperCollins, which ultimately paid Cuomo about $245 per book sold. It retailed at $29.99.
His Presidential aspirations are the subject of frequent speculation, which would be a f%$#ing disaster.
He needs not to be the Democrats 2020 nominee.
Heck: He needs not to be the Governor New York State.
He needs to be fired ……… Out of a cannon ……… Into the sun.
Federal and state prosecutors on Thursday announced charges against 10 men, including two onetime senior advisers to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, in corruption and fraud cases involving state contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The charges followed a federal investigation into Buffalo Billion, a signature $1 billion economic development project of Cuomo aimed at revitalizing the area around the city of Buffalo, once an upstate industrial powerhouse. Joseph Percoco, a former executive deputy secretary to the governor; Alain Kaloyeros, president of the State University of New York's Polytechnic Institute; and six others were charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan. Todd Howe, a lobbyist and an ex-adviser to Cuomo when he led the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, pleaded guilty to federal charges and is cooperating. Richard Morvillo, his lawyer, said Howe "will testify truthfully if called upon." Prosecutors said in one scheme, Percoco, whom they called Cuomo's "right-hand-man," sought $315,000 in bribes in exchange for offering help to two of Howe's corporate clients, an energy company and a Syracuse real estate developer. In an overlapping scheme, they said, Kaloyeros, who oversaw a grant application process for Buffalo Billion and similar programs, and Howe, whom he hired to help develop projects, conspired to rig bids for contracts favoring two developers.
There is still nothing tying hizzonner to any of this, but it is increasingly clear that Cuomo was knowingly swimming in a sea of corruption, so some wetness is a logical conclusion.
I'm inclined to think that Cuomo's aspirations of national office have become significantly less likely over the past few years.
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