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Pelosi amongst prime Democrats calling for NY Gov. Cuomo’s resignation

Pelosi among top Democrats calling for NY Gov. Cuomo's resignation

Governor Andrew Cuomo holds press briefing and makes announcement to combat Covid-19 Delta variant at 633 3rd Avenue.

Pacific Press | LightRocket | Getty Images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top Democrats called on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign on Tuesday, following the release of a bombshell report alleging that the governor sexually harassed 11 women.

Pelosi expressed her belief that Cuomo should resign, a shift from the spring when she declined to call on the governor to step down from office.

“Recognizing his love of New York and the respect for the office he holds, I call upon the Governor to resign,” Pelosi said in a statement. 

President Joe Biden also called on Cuomo to step down. “He should resign,” Biden told reporters at the White House.

Asked whether Cuomo should be removed from office if he refuses to resign, Biden said, “I understand the state legislature may decide to impeach, I do not know that for a fact.”

Shortly after Biden’s response, New York State House Speaker Carl Heastie (D) announced the launch of an impeachment inquiry.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, both Democrats from New York, issued a joint statement calling the allegations against Cuomo “profoundly disturbing” and demanding his resignation.

“Today’s report from the New York State Attorney General substantiated and corroborated the allegations of the brave women who came forward to share their stories — and we commend the women for doing so,” the senators said.

“No elected official is above the law. The people of New York deserve better leadership in the governor’s office. We continue to believe that the Governor should resign,” Schumer and Gillibrand said. The senators had originally called for Cuomo’s resignation back in March.

Gillibrand on Tuesday called the report “very serious and damning.”

“My heart goes out to the women who have come forward … and I thank them for their courage,” she told reporters in the Capitol.

Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut, Governor Dan McKee of Rhode Island, Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey and Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania released a joint statement asking Cuomo to resign: “We are appalled at the findings of the independent investigation by the New York Attorney General. Governor Cuomo should resign from office.”

Three Democratic congressmen from New York, Reps. Tom Suozzi, Gregory Meeks and Hakeem Jeffries, none of whom had previously called on Cuomo to step down, did so on Tuesday.

“The time has come for Governor Andrew Cuomo to do the right thing for the people of New York State and resign,” the lawmakers said in a statement.

Jeffries is the House Democratic Caucus chairman, the fifth highest-ranking Democrat in the House.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the White House’s message to Cuomo’s accusers is that all women who “have lived through this type of experience … deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.”

“I don’t know that anyone could have watched [James’ press conference] this morning and not found the allegations to be abhorrent — I know I certainly did,” said Psaki.

Heastie, the state House Speaker, said the report made it impossible for Cuomo to continue to lead the state.

“It is abundantly clear to me that the Governor has lost the confidence of the Assembly Democratic majority and that he can no longer remain in office,” Heastie said in a statement.

“We will move expeditiously and look to conclude our impeachment investigation as quickly as possible.” 

U.S. Senate Majority Chuck Schumer (D-NY) looks up after reading a statement calling for the resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, August 3, 2021.

Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

The report is the product of a monthslong probe by independent investigators working for state Attorney General Letitia James’ office. It concluded that Cuomo “sexually harassed multiple women and in doing so violated federal and state law,” James said at a press conference.

A somber but defiant Cuomo strongly denied some of those allegations later Tuesday and said that other examples of his alleged misconduct had been mischaracterized or misinterpreted.

News of the report’s findings landed like a grenade in Albany and in Washington, where the powerful Democratic governor has earned a reputation as a bare-knuckle political brawler.

The 165-page report also said that Cuomo’s office was riddled with fear and intimidation and was a hostile work environment for many staffers. The women Cuomo harassed included members of his own staff, members of the public and other state employees, one of whom was a state trooper, the report found.

“The Governor must resign for the good of the state,” said Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Democratic majority leader of the New York State Senate. “Now that the investigation is complete and the allegations have been substantiated, it should be clear to everyone that he can no longer serve as Governor.”

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the “abhorrent behavior” outlined in the report disqualifies Cuomo from remaining in office, renewing his call for the governor to resign or be impeached.

“My first thoughts are with the women who were subject to this abhorrent behavior, and their bravery in stepping forward to share their stories,” de Blasio said in a statement. “The Attorney General’s detailed and thorough report substantiates many disturbing instances of severe misconduct. Andrew Cuomo committed sexual assault and sexual harassment, and intimidated a whistleblower. It is disqualifying.”

One of the women allegedly sexually harassed by Cuomo was a New York state trooper.

Thomas H. Mungeer, president of the New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association, said he was “outraged and disgusted that one of my members, who was tasked with guarding the governor and ensuring his safety, could not enjoy the same sense of security in her work environment that he was provided.”

“The NYSTPBA also applauds the bravery of our member, who when called upon during this investigation was truthful and had the courage to share her experiences,” said Mungeer.

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Business

Biden, Calling for Large Authorities, Bets on a Nation Examined by Disaster

Biden, Calling for Big Government, Bets on a Nation Tested by Crisis

“People are fed up with it,” said Florida Senator Rick Scott, who heads the Senate Republican campaign arm leading to the 2022 election.

These attacks do not seem to have the same impact as they did during Mr Obama’s tenure, when the White House proposed a much smaller stimulus package than many economists believed was warranted given the huge erosion of household wealth following the financial crisis. Mr Obama has raised taxes on high wage earners, partly to fund the Affordable Care Act, but not to the extent that Mr Biden is proposing.

Mr. Biden could thank Mr. Trump for part of this postponement. The pandemic relief bills he signed last year with the support of both parties in Congress may have helped reset public views on Washington’s spending limits. “Trillions” was sort of a red line under Mr. Obama, but nothing more.

Mr Trump also urged Congress to approve direct controls, an effort Mr Biden continued, and launched the Operation Warp Speed ​​vaccination program, which helped accelerate the deployment of the most important driver of economic activity that year: vaccinated Americans. As the economy reopens and people return to work, economic optimism rises, although Republicans across the country continue to be more pessimistic and more likely to oppose Mr Biden’s plans.

In Washington, the president doesn’t need Republican support to push his agenda through. He only needs his party to stick together in the House of Representatives and Senate, where the Democrats enjoy a low-margin majority and move as much spending and taxation as possible through what is known as the budget balancing process. The maneuver bypasses the Senate filibusters and enables laws such as this year’s auxiliary law by Mr Biden to be passed only with a majority of votes.

This process will give great influence to moderate Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, but so far this group has not declined in the order of Mr. Biden’s ambitions. Mr. Manchin has announced that he will support $ 4 trillion in infrastructure spending.

It is unclear whether Mr Biden will be able to keep Mr Manchin and others on with his people-centered expenses like the education and childcare efforts unveiled on Wednesday. His administration tries to argue for productivity reasons, viewing the plan as an investment in an inclusive economy that would help millions of Americans gain the skills and work flexibility they need to build a middle-class lifestyle.

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Politics

Nike, FedEx focused by progressive group calling for greater company taxes

Nike, FedEx targeted by progressive group calling for higher corporate taxes

A FedEx employee loads deliveries in San Francisco.

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A progressive group urging Congress to raise the corporate tax rate is launching an advertising campaign for FedEx and Nike, two large American companies with light federal taxes, the group said on Monday.

Tax March, which held dozens of demonstrations in 2017 urging former President Donald Trump to publish his tax returns, plans to post ads for FedEx on Tuesday. The television commercials will air in Washington, DC and in Memphis, Tennessee, where FedEx is headquartered.

A report by the Institute for Taxes and Economic Policy said FedEx “zeroed its federal income tax on $ 1.2 billion in pre-tax income in 2020 and received a $ 230 million discount.” The report says the lack of tax payments by some companies is likely related to historical tax breaks, as well as Trump’s 2017 tax reform plan and certain elements of the coronavirus relief act known as the CARES Act.

Tax March also plans to target Nike next week with a newspaper ad in the shoe giant’s home state of Oregon, according to Dana Bye, the group’s campaign leader. She said the newspaper ad will have a message similar to the TV ad that focuses on FedEx.

The institute’s report states that Nike did not “pay a cent of federal tax on nearly $ 2.9 billion in pre-tax income last year, but received a tax rebate of $ 109 million.”

CNBC policy

Read more about CNBC’s political coverage:

“FedEx will pay all federal, state and local taxes totaling over $ 20 billion between 2016 and 2020. During that time, Congress passed new tax laws to help companies like FedEx make additional investments in their employees The local economies have created new jobs and improved infrastructure. These changes were laws, not loopholes, “company spokeswoman Isabel Rollison said in a statement after the story was published.

After making her initial statement, Rollison later told CNBC, “FedEx will pay all US federal, state and local taxes totaling over $ 9 billion between 2016 and 2020.”

“FedEx has collected and remitted over $ 20 billion in taxes in the United States (individual income, payroll, customs fees, and state and local sales taxes) for the past five fiscal years 2016-2020,” she added.

A Nike representative did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

President Joe Biden said he would raise the corporate tax rate to 28% to fund his $ 2 trillion infrastructure reform package. Since then, he has stated that he is ready to negotiate a possible corporate tax hike as moderate Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., pushed the tax rate back to 28%.

Bye said the campaign will cost nearly $ 500,000 in total. It will also include digital ads on Facebook and other platforms.

The TV ad, which was first reviewed by CNBC, targets FedEx as one of several companies that have recently paid little to no federal corporate income taxes.

“Tell Congress, it’s time to put people first,” said a voice-over on the FedEx ad. “Let companies like FedEx pay their fair share.”

FedEx recently told CNBC that it opposed a corporate tax hike to pay for Biden’s infrastructure plan. Stakeholders like the Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable have also spoken out against the idea of ​​raising the corporate tax rate to pay for the infrastructure.

“I think the biggest message we’re trying to make with this campaign is that we can’t let tax evaders like FedEx drive the tax debate,” Bye said.

Tax March is a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a 501 (c) (4) dark money organization that donated just over $ 60 million to democratic groups, including millions to Super-PACs, during the 2020 election , the Biden support the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics.

Tax March’s campaign is one of the first to adopt companies since Biden became president. Corporations are under pressure to respond to new electoral laws recently passed in Georgia.

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Business

Biden, Calling Covid Reduction Invoice a ‘Down Fee,’ Urges Extra Reduction

Biden, Calling Covid Relief Bill a ‘Down Payment,’ Urges More Relief

“Joe Biden called this a first step, a down payment – we knew we would visit again and we would have a better chance with a Democratic president who does science,” Ms. Pelosi said in an interview, adding added that “we will have the presidential leadership.”

However, discussions about another bailout package will be a first test of Biden’s approach to working with Congress and his optimism about the prospect of bipartisan legislation in a highly polarized era. Barely a month before his inauguration, he still doesn’t know what the balance of power in Congress will look like when he takes office, and the House Democrats will face a significantly smaller majority in 2021.

Even if the Democrats win both runoffs for the Georgian Senate seats on Jan. 5 and gain control of the Chamber, the Senate’s current rules require some support from Republicans to ensure that legislation clears the Chamber. If Republicans hold on to at least one of these seats, Mr Biden will have to contend with a majority in the Republican Senate.

As he pursues another package, he will also face the prospect of finding an elusive compromise on two of the most difficult policy provisions: a direct stream of funding to state and local governments, for which he has repeatedly expressed his support, and a Republican demand for comprehensive liability protection against Covid-related lawsuits for companies, schools and other institutions. After roughly eight months of debate between the two sides, the congressional leaders finally agreed to remove both provisions from the final $ 900 billion deal.

The Republicans on Capitol Hill have begun to tacitly acknowledge Mr. Biden’s public request for a different package. After spending more than $ 3 trillion this year to help the economy and battle families, businesses, and institutions, several Republicans are resistant to yet another major package at the start of 2021.

“If we look at the critical needs now and things improve next year, when the vaccine hits the market and the economy picks up again, you know the need may be less,” said Senator John Thune of South Dakota Republicans No. 2 in the Senate, told reporters last week before the deal hit.

Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, has refused to initiate another round of relief despite not ruling out another round of negotiations.

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Entertainment

Piano Bars and Jazz Golf equipment Reopen, Calling Reside Music ‘Incidental’

Piano Bars and Jazz Clubs Reopen, Calling Live Music ‘Incidental’

Although most indoor live performances in New York have been banned since the deadly spread of the coronavirus began in March, about a dozen people showed up at Birdland, the jazz club near Times Square, for a 7 p.m. performance on Wednesday night Live jazz was billed for dinner. They had reservations.

Among them was Tricia Tait, 63, from Manhattan, who came for the band, led by tuba player David Ostwald, who plays the music of Louis Armstrong. Until the pandemic, it had played on Birdland most Wednesdays. She admitted having health concerns “in the back of your mind” but said, “Sometimes you just have to take risks and enjoy things.”

As the daily number of new coronavirus cases in New York City has risen to levels not seen since April, face-to-face learning in public middle and high schools has been suspended, and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo warned this week not to allow indoors dine It could soon be banned in the city. Birdland and a number of other well-known jazz clubs and piano bars across town are once again offering quietly live performances, arguing that the music they are presenting is “random” and therefore will be allowed by the pandemic. Era guidelines set by the State Liquor Authority.

These guidelines state that “only random music is allowed at this time” and that “advertised and / or ticket shows are not allowed”. They continue: “Music should be part of the culinary experience, not the draw.”

That hasn’t stopped a number of New York City venues better known for their performances than their cuisine – including Birdland, the Blue Note, and Marie’s Crisis Cafe, a West Village piano bar that reopened on Monday with a show tune after she declared herself to be the establishment – from offering live music again.

“We think it’s coincidental,” said Ryan Paternite, Birdland’s program and media director, of its calendar of events, which includes a marching band and a jazz quartet. “It’s background music. That’s the rule. “

The rules have been challenged in court. After Michael Hund, a guitarist from Buffalo, filed a lawsuit against her in August, a US District Court judge in New York’s western district issued an injunction last month preventing the state from enforcing its ban on advertised and ticketed Enforce shows. “The minor music rule prohibits one type of live music and allows another,” wrote Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. in his November 13 ruling. “This distinction is arbitrary.”

The state appeals the judgment.

“Science recognizes that mass gatherings can easily become super-spreader events, and it cannot be overlooked that companies would seek to undermine tried and tested public health rules like these as infections, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise “said William Crowley, a spokesman for the alcohol authority, said Thursday. He noted that a federal judge in New York City had ruled in another case that the restrictions were constitutional. He said the state will “continue to vigorously defend our ability to fight this pandemic if it is challenged”.

However, it is unclear what exactly “random” music means. Does that mean a guitarist in the corner? A six-piece jazz band like the one that played at Birdland on Wednesday night? The Harlem Gospel Choir, who will perform at Blue Note on Christmas Day? Mr Crowley on Thursday did not respond to questions seeking clarity or what enforcement action the state has taken.

Robert Bookman, an attorney who represents a number of New York City’s live music venues, said the venues interpreted the judgment as allowing them to advertise and sell tickets to occasional music performances during dinner.

Hence, the venues have carefully chosen their words. They take dinner reservations and announce line-up calendars for what Mr. Paternite of Birdland calls “background music during dinner.” Unlike Mac’s public house, the Staten Island Bar, which declared itself an autonomous zone and was recently ridiculed on Saturday Night Live, they have no interest in openly disregarding regulations.

Mr Paternite said that after laying off nearly all 60 employees in March, Birdland is now returning to what he calls the “skeletal staff” of about 10 people.

“It is a big risk for us to be open,” he said. “And it only pays in a cent. But it helps us with our arrangement with our landlord because in order to pay our rent over time and keep our utilities and taxes updated we need to stay open. But we lose huge amounts every day. “

If the venues don’t reopen now, he fears they may never do so. Jazz Standard, a popular 130-seat club on East 27th Street in Manhattan, announced last week that it would be permanently closed due to the pandemic. Arlene’s Grocery, a club in the Lower East Side where the Strokes took place before they became known, said it was “life sustaining” and had to close on February 1 without assistance.

Randy Taylor, the bartender and manager of Marie’s Crisis Cafe, said the last time the piano bar served food was likely in the 1970s – or maybe earlier. “There is a very old kitchen that is completely disconnected upstairs,” he said. Dining options are extremely limited: there are currently $ 4 bowls of chips and salsa on offer. “We have to sell them,” he said. “We can’t just give them away.”

Steven Bensusan, the president of Blue Note Entertainment Group, said he hoped the state doesn’t move to stop eating indoors.

“I know the cases are sharp,” he said. “But we’re doing our best to keep people safe, and I hope we can stay open. We won’t be profitable, but we have the opportunity to give work to some people who have been with us for a long time. “

The clubs said they are taking precautions. In the Blue Note, which reopened on November 27th, the tables that were previously divided are now two meters apart and separated from one another by plexiglass barriers. The two nightly seats for dinner are each limited to 25 percent or about 50 people. At Marie’s Crisis Cafe, where masked pianist Alexander Barylski sat behind a clear screen on Wednesday night as he led a cheering group choir from “Frosty the Snowman,” Taylor said the tables were separated by plastic barriers and that the venue conducted temperature tests and collected contact tracking information at the door.

Marie’s Crisis Cafe had streamed live on Instagram and his Facebook group page, but Mr. Taylor said it wasn’t the same. On Wednesday night, 10 customers strapped Christmas music through masks, some having had their first drinks at a venue since March.

“There were some tears,” said Mr. Taylor. “People really missed us. We can’t see their smiles through their masks, but their eyes say it all. “