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NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed a number of girls, Lawyer Common James says

NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, Attorney General James says

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually molested several women and then retaliated a former employee who publicly complained about his behavior, according to a bombshell report released Tuesday by Attorney General Letitia James.

The month-long investigation concluded that Cuomo “sexually molested several women in violation of federal and state laws,” James said at a press conference.

The 165-page report, which includes interviews with 179 witnesses and a review of tens of thousands of documents, also stated that Cuomo’s office was steeped in fear and intimidation and was a hostile work environment for many employees.

Cuomo molested 11 women, including members of his own staff, members of the public and other government employees, one of whom was a state trooper, the report said.

The results show “a deeply troubling but clear picture,” said James, describing Cuomo’s office as a “toxic workplace”.

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The announcement came about two weeks after Cuomo was interviewed by investigators hired by James’ office to investigate. Cuomo was reportedly interviewed for 11 hours.

The investigation into numerous allegations of sexual harassment by Cuomo began in March after the State Executive Chamber granted James’ inquiries.

Later that month, dozens of the state’s Democratic lawmakers – including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, with whom Cuomo has long had a strained relationship – called on the governor to resign.

New York Congregation spokesman Carl Heastie, also a Democrat, authorized a panel in mid-March to open an impeachment investigation into allegations of harassment and other allegations of wrongdoing by Cuomo, including whether his staff tried to gather data on coronavirus deaths in New to hide or change York nursing homes.

Cuomo has defended himself against all allegations, repeatedly rejecting requests to resign, despite apologizing for making some women feel uncomfortable.

“I never molested anyone, I never attacked anyone, I never abused anyone,” Cuomo said in March. “I will not resign.”

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ProPublica tax leak investigation will probably be precedence, Lawyer Basic Garland says

ProPublica tax leak investigation will be priority, Attorney General Garland says

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland previously testified at a hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Funds for Commerce, Justice, Science and Allied Agencies on the proposed 2022 budget for the Department of Justice on June 9, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Susan Walsh | AFP | Getty Images

Attorney General Merrick Garland told lawmakers Wednesday that investigating the source of a massive taxpayer information leak behind an article by investigative news agency ProPublica will be one of its top priorities.

“I promise it will be at the top of my list,” Garland assured Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, during a budget hearing before the Senate Grants Committee.

The former federal judge said he knew nothing at the moment but what he had learned from reading the long article that revealed that in recent years billionaires like Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Tesla boss Elon Musk and businessmen Michael Bloomberg , Carl Icahn and George Soros paid no federal income taxes.

“Senator, I take this as seriously as you do. I remember very well what was President [Richard] Nixon did it in the Watergate period – making lists of enemies and punishing people by checking their tax returns, ”Garland said. “This is extremely serious business. People are of course entitled to a great deal of privacy with regard to their tax returns. “

The ProPublica article, which is expected to be the first in a series, did not reveal how the journalists obtained the tax records, and the outlet did not respond to a request for comment. The article said the research was based on “an enormous treasure trove of data from the Internal Revenue Service on the tax returns of thousands of the richest people in the country, covering more than 15 years.”

The article adds that the tax strategies used by the ultra-rich individuals quoted appeared to be perfectly legal. The investigation is said to “destroy the cornerstone of the American tax system: everyone pays their fair share and the richest Americans pay the most.”

The outlet published a separate article defending its decision to publish the private records.

Tax information is generally confidential and those who disclosed the documents can be prosecuted.

Garland said he believed IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig was working on the matter.

“He said their inspectors were working on it, and I’m sure that means it will go to the Justice Department,” Garland said. “This was on my list of things to raise after I finished preparing for this hearing.”

Rettig said during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday that he shared “every American’s concern about the sensitive and private nature and confidentiality of information received by the IRS.”

Garland’s comments came as the Justice Department, acting on President Joe Biden’s orders, sought to move away from the aggressive tactics used against journalists and media organizations under former President Donald Trump and previous administrations.

On Saturday, the ministry said it would refrain from confiscating reporters’ records when investigating leaks, “in alteration of its longstanding practice.” Last month, Biden called this practice “simply wrong” even though his position had not yet been formalized as a guideline.

Also on Wednesday, Garland defended the Justice Department against criticism from the left that it was not moving fast enough to distance itself from the Trump administration.

On Monday, the ministry filed a controversial letter to effectively defeat a case against Trump by columnist E. Jean Carroll who claims Trump defamed her when he denied the rape. Senator Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., Asked Garland, “How does this come about.”

“Are these criticisms justified?” Leahy asked.

“I know the criticisms,” Garland replied. “The Justice Department’s role in making legal decisions is not to assist a previous or current government. Our job is to represent the American people. “

Sometimes, Garland said, “we have to make a decision about the law that we would never have made and that we strictly disagree with on political grounds.”

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Merrick Garland confirmed as U.S. lawyer normal by Senate

Merrick Garland confirmed as U.S. attorney general by Senate

Attorney General candidate Merrick Garland testifies during his hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in Washington, DC, on February 22, 2021.

Drew Angerer | Pool | Reuters

The Senate voted Wednesday to reaffirm Merrick Garland as attorney general, placing the longtime federal appeals judge and former Supreme Court election at the helm of an agency central to President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda.

The vote was 70-30.

Garland assumes leadership of the Department of Justice as the sprawling agency continues to investigate the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol, one of the largest probes in its history. Garland has identified the investigation as his # 1 priority.

The Justice Department will also be instrumental in implementing Biden’s comprehensive plans for civil rights enforcement and criminal justice reform. The department is likely to make important decisions over the coming years regarding the regulation of the country’s largest tech companies, which some lawmakers are pushing to disband.

Garland pledged to defend the Justice Department’s independence during hearings before the Judiciary Committee last month. Biden has made restoring the traditional distance between the department and White House political officials a top priority.

“I would not have taken this job if I had thought that politics would influence law enforcement and investigations,” Garland told the legislature at his hearing. He said he and Biden had not discussed an ongoing investigation into the tax affairs of Hunter Biden, the president’s son.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., welcomed Garland’s nomination ahead of Wednesday’s vote.

“America can breathe a sigh of relief that we finally have someone like Merrick Garland to run the Justice Department. Someone with integrity, independence, respect for the rule of law and credibility on both sides of the aisle,” Schumer told the Senate. “He understands that the attorney general’s job is to protect the rule of law, unlike the former attorneys general under President Trump.”

Before Biden appointed Garland attorney general, the centrist attorney was appointed to a Supreme Court seat by former President Barack Obama in 2016 to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia. The then Republicans controlled the Senate and refused to hold a hearing on his nomination.

The Senate is currently reviewing a few other top Justice Department candidates, including Vanita Gupta, Kristen Clarke, and Lisa Monaco. Gupta and Monaco faced questions from the senators on Tuesday.

Gupta, who headed the Justice Department’s civil rights division under Obama, is appointed assistant attorney general. Clarke is named director of the Civil Rights Department. Biden appointed Monaco Deputy Attorney General.

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Trump tax returns in arms of Manhattan district lawyer

Trump tax returns in hands of Manhattan district attorney

Former President Donald Trump’s tax records were turned over to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. after the Supreme Court rejected the ex-President’s recent efforts to keep the documents safe.

A Vance spokesman Danny Frost confirmed that a subpoena against Trump’s longtime accounting firm Mazars USA was passed on Monday, hours after the country’s highest court dismissed Trump’s appeal.

The subpoena requested Trump’s 2011 personal and company records, including his tax returns. Trump defied modern precedent by refusing to make his tax returns available to the public despite running two campaigns for the presidency.

A spokesman for the former president did not immediately comment on Thursday. After the court allowed the rendition, Trump promised to “keep fighting” and said Vance was pursuing a “fishing expedition.”

The long-term investigation was closely monitored. Early reports suggested that prosecutors were looking into hush money payments made on Trump’s behalf to women allegedly linked to the real estate tycoon. Trump denied the affairs.

Recent court records have revealed that Vance may be investigating Trump and his company of the same name, The Trump Organization, for possible banking and insurance fraud. Trump has repeatedly denied allegations of financial inappropriateness and accused investigators of partisan motives.

The dispute over Trump’s tax documents reached the Supreme Court twice. On both occasions the panel refused to stop the lower court’s decisions on Vance’s side. In July, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a statement for a 7-2 court rejecting Trump’s sweeping argument that he was immune to state criminal investigations during his tenure.

“In our judicial system, the public has a right to any man’s evidence.” Since the earliest days of the Republic, “every man” has included the President of the United States, “said Roberts, who was appointed to court by then-President George W. Bush.

After this decision, Trump’s lawyers continued to fight the subpoena on the grounds that it was too broad and badly issued, but the lower courts denied these claims. In October, Trump’s attorneys again called on the Supreme Court to intervene, but the court wrote in a one-line order on Monday that it was not.

Vance’s possession of Trump’s tax records does not guarantee that the public will ever know what they contain. The recordings were obtained in connection with a grand jury investigation and New York State law requires that the grand jury proceedings be confidential. It’s likely that the public will only be able to see the records if Vance ultimately charges and includes portions of the records in billing documents.

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Merrick Garland lawyer basic affirmation hearings to start Monday

Merrick Garland attorney general confirmation hearings to begin Monday

Judge Merrick Garland, US President-elect Joe Biden’s candidate for US Attorney General, speaks as Biden listens as he announces his nominations for the Justice Department on January 7, 2021 at his interim headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Merrick Garland is finally getting his Senate day.

Garland, President Joe Biden’s election as attorney general, will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday on the first day of his confirmation hearings, which are expected to continue later this week.

The hearings were postponed due to partisan disputes while Democrats and Republicans struggled to reach a power-sharing deal in the evenly-divided Senate.

Those delays came after Garland was denied no hearings at all in 2016 when former President Barack Obama appointed the centrist judge to the Supreme Court following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, the Conservative associate.

The federal appeals court judge is expected to be quickly confirmed – likely in early March – though he may be grilled uncomfortably, especially by the panel’s Republicans.

Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the senior Republican on the Justice Committee, has stated that Garland will be asked how he will deal with the federal investigation into Biden’s son Hunter Biden related to the younger Biden’s finances. Hunter Biden has announced that the federal prosecutor is investigating his “tax affairs”.

All in all, however, the hearings are unlikely to be dramatic. In a statement, Democratic Committee Chairman Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois described Garland as “a consensus decision whose merits should be swiftly confirmed”.

Question of independence

Garland has been a judge on the US Court of Appeals for DC Circuit since 1997 and served as the chief judge in the court from 2013 to 2020, which was considered the most important except for the Supreme Court.

The 68-year-old, if confirmed, will head the Justice Department, which will be crucial to Biden’s agenda for criminal justice reform. Biden has also said that he hopes that by choosing Garland he can demonstrate a contrast to President Donald Trump’s use of the department for selfish ends.

“We must restore the DOJ’s honor, integrity and independence to this nation that has been so badly damaged,” Biden said during a January speech introducing Garland.

“I want to be clear to those in charge of this department who you are going to serve: you are not going to work for me. You are not the lawyer for the president or the vice president,” added Biden. “Your loyalty is not to me. It is to the law, the constitution and the people of this nation.”

Trump’s four-year tenure in the Justice Department was marked by controversy.

His first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, was forced to resign for good in 2018 after Trump attacked him for months for deciding to withdraw from former Special Adviser Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

William Barr, Trump’s last attorney general, has been charged with manipulating the prosecution of Trump allies Roger Stone and Michael Flynn and making misleading statements related to Müller’s final report.

Garland is committed to maintaining its independence.

“The essence of the rule of law is that the same cases are treated equally: there is no rule for Democrats and one for Republicans, one rule for friends, another for enemies, one rule for the powerful and another for the powerless,” he said last month.

Civil Rights Examination

It is likely that Democrats will push Garland to look at how his views on criminal justice align with Biden’s pledge to strengthen racial justice in the legal system. Civil rights groups have found that Garland has demonstrated a conservative stance in his decisions as a judge.

“Judge Garland very rarely ruled in favor of defendants in Fourth Amendment cases and has generally deemed law enforcement action appropriate in the circumstances,” the American Civil Liberties Union wrote in a 2016 report, while Garland stood under the Supreme Court’s consideration.

The report also found that Garlands “notable judgment rulings similarly display a pro-criminal perspective”.

During his campaign, Biden pledged to reduce the number of people detained in the United States and to eradicate inequalities in sentencing.

During his early days in office, he ordered the Justice Department to restrict contracts with private prisons and made other promises related to racial justice in the ministry. While the administration has been in place for a month, rights groups have been pushing for more to be done.

The Capitol Rebellion

An early test for Garland could be the result of the January 6 uprising in the Capitol, which led to increasing calls for a new domestic terrorism law to help the Federal Bureau of Investigation – part of the DOJ – find members help the pro-Trump mob who led the attack.

Federal prosecutors have said the investigation into the attack is likely unprecedented in the DOJ’s history, and that more than 200 people have already been charged.

While law enforcement groups have advocated such laws, civil rights groups have suggested that such bills fall hardest on already persecuted communities such as blacks and Muslims.

Garland is expected to fall back on his work in 1995 to oversee law enforcement resulting from the Oklahoma City bombing carried out by white supremacists.

Garland not only assembled the litigation team in this case, but also drafted the Department of Justice’s plan to respond to critical incidents and “oversaw the US Marshal Service Vulnerability Assessment for Federal Institutions.”

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Trump thought-about ousting Legal professional Common in push to overturn election

Trump considered ousting Attorney General in push to overturn election

President Donald J. Trump stops to speak to reporters as he boards Marine One and departs from the South Lawn at the White House.

The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump had planned earlier this month to oust Jeffrey Rosen as acting attorney general and replace him with a Justice Department attorney who would support his efforts to reverse the presidential election results, the New York Times reported on Friday.

The plan would have replaced Rosen with Jeffrey Clark, the attorney who ran the Department of Justice’s civil division. Clark would then have backed Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud and put pressure on Georgia state officials to change the election result.

A Justice Department official familiar with the matter confirmed the Times’ report of Trump’s efforts to NBC News.

Trump’s plan ultimately failed to materialize after Justice Department officials agreed during a conference call that they would resign if Rosen was fired, the Times said.

Trump had asked Rosen to appoint special advisors to investigate his allegations of widespread electoral fraud as well as the Dominion voting machine company, but Rosen declined.

Trump attempted to pressure Georgia’s top polling officer to “find the scam” in December when investigating suspected election fraud in Cobb County. Allegations that state officials believed to be unfounded. Trump also called on Georgian Foreign Minister Brad Raffensperger to “find” votes to postpone the election in his favor.

In a statement to the Times, Clark categorically denied that he had devised a plan to oust Rosen or give recommendations for action based on factual inaccuracies found on the Internet.

The House has accused Trump of instigating an anti-government riot on Jan. 6 after deadly unrest in the Capitol. His impeachment proceedings against the Senate are due to begin in the week of February 8th.

Read the full Times report here