[guest post by JVW]

From National Review Online:

New York governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, among them current and former state employees, in violation of federal and state law, state attorney general Letitia James announced at a press conference on Tuesday.

The announcement represents the conclusions of a months-long probe by the attorney general’s office into sexual harassment allegations made against the governor. Several women have alleged that the governor inappropriately touched them, although Cuomo has denied wrongdoing.

“Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and in doing so violated federal and state law,” James told reporters. Cuomo and the Executive Chamber cultivated a “toxic” workplace that allowed “harassment to occur and created a hostile work environment.”

James added that the probe “is civil in nature and does not have criminal consequences.” However, Anne Clark, one of the lead investigators for the probe, said prosecutors may look at the evidence contained in the report and determine whether to press charges.

“All the information is fully documented in the report, and any prosecutors or police departments can look at the evidence and determine if they want to take further action,” Clark said.

The report detailed allegations against Gov. Cuomo by eleven different women. They largely fall along the lines of obnoxious teenage boy garbage such as using a hug as a pretext to cop a quick feel of a woman’s breast or rear end, or forcing kisses on unwilling victims, much of which we have already discussed at this blog.

I had really began to despair that Governor Sonny was going to get away with this behavior, thanks to a notoriously cynical and corrupt political scene in New York and thanks to a lazy and self-satisfied media (with the exception of the New York Post, who has continued to hold Sonny’s feet to the fire) which can’t be bothered when sexual harassment charges are lodged against an otherwise mostly progressive Democrat. But Attorney General James has political ambitions too, and denying Andrew Cuomo a fourth term is the best way to position herself for a future run at the chief executive’s office.

Now it just remains to be seen what the fallout is. I’ve predicted all along that this ends not with the disgraced governor resigning from office, but with an announcement that he will indeed retire when his term is up at the end of next year. But key Democrats, including the President of the United States, are already on record has having opined that Gov. Cuomo should step down if the reports suggests he sexually harassed women, the legislature has opened up an impeachment inquiry regarding his behavior, and Congressional Democrats from the Empire State have begun the process of throwing their embattled governor under the bus. While I am sure Democrats will eventually find a technicality by which to conveniently backtrack on their “believe all women” stance, someone like Joe Biden whose Administration is seeking to narrow the due process rights of college men accused of sex harassment should theoretically have a difficult time explaining why a powerful, well-placed adult like Andrew Cuomo should be given any benefit of the doubt here. Though we should never underestimate the capacity of Democrats and their media guardians to engage in the rankest form of hypocrisy where party interests are in play, there is certainly going to be some reckoning up in Albany over the next few weeks.

– JVW

[guest post by Dana]

That four police officers who responded to the insurrection at the US Capitol have committed suicide is staggering:

Four law enforcement officers who responded to the Capitol insurrection have now died by suicide, a sobering toll which doubled on Monday, after Metropolitan Police confirmed two of the department’s officers who responded on January 6 recently took their own lives.

Officer Kyle DeFreytag served in the city’s 5th District and was at the Capitol to enforce curfew violations, Metropolitan Police confirmed. Chief Robert J. Contee III sent a message to the police force notifying personnel of DeFreytag’s death last month.

“I am writing to share tragic news that Officer Kyle DeFreytag of the 5th District was found deceased last evening,” Contee wrote in a mid-July message to the department. “This is incredibly hard news for us all, and for those that knew him best.”

The confirmation of DeFreytag’s death came hours after a spokeswoman for MPD said Officer Gunther Hashida was found dead at his residence last Thursday. Hashida, who joined the department in May 2003, was most recently assigned to the department’s Emergency Response Team.

Over 100 responding law enforcement officers sustained injuries while defending the Capitol and protecting members of Congress on Jan. 6.

How the police at the Capitol were viewed by a popular right-wing nutjob:

To @dineshdsouza and the others downplaying January 6th: you are disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/86bLnfACIf

— The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) July 29, 2021

I think there are many Americans that view the officers responding to the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a vein similar to the execrable D’Souza. That day, officers at the Capitol were seen as fair game by any number of rioters. The difference being, of course, that D’Souza was the only one who was pardoned by then-President Trump. Back the blue, my ass.

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

From New York, a Democratic-sponsored bill is ruffling feathers on Long Island:

County lawmakers in Long Island, N.Y., passed a bill Monday night that allows first responders to sue any person who harasses, attacks or injures them while they are in uniform.

Its proponents argue the Nassau County bill offers additional protections to officers in the face of “destructive riots and lawlessness” targeting law enforcement officials following George Floyd’s death in police custody last summer. Its critics say the bill comes as “retaliation” for Black Lives Matter protests against police abuses, and warn it could suppress demonstrations.

The bill — which was passed with 12 votes in favor, 6 opposed and one absent — will allow police officers and other first responders to seek and collect financial and punitive damages, with civil penalties of $25,000 to the “aggrieved” first responder and up to $50,000 in the case the violations happened during a riot, according to the bill.

…

In 2019, the Nassau County Legislature gave first responders protected status under its Human Rights Law, which prohibits discrimination against them.

The new law filed in June and authored by Nassau County Legislator Joshua A. Lafazan proposed expanding the local human rights law by allowing the county to sue on behalf of police officers for discrimination if they are harassed, menaced or injured.

The bill, co-sponsored by Democratic legislators Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, Arnold W. Drucker and Ellen Birnbaum, cited a “widespread pattern of physical attacks and intimidation” against the police since the protests over the killing of Floyd, although the protests were largely peaceful.

Civil rights groups are upset over the bill’s passage, saying that the bill sets a “dangerous” precedent. Moreover, they believe that it offers to police more protection and less accountability, will hinder the exercise of free speech and that the law will jeopardize even peaceful protests.

Details:

First responders would be allowed to sue for damages, punitive damages and legal fees. If the incident occurred while the officer was responding to “a riot,” then the payout would be triple. If a first responder does not wish to pursue action under the law, it directs the county attorney to sue on their behalf.

The New York Civil Liberties Union also voiced their opposition to the law:

The New York Civil Liberties Union is strongly opposed to the law. The NYCLU also says the bill conflates a chosen profession with being a member of a protected group — such as a racial or religious minority or a member of the LGBTQ community.

According to the NYCLU, police officers and first responders are already protected under the law, and crimes committed against them already come with steep penalties. The NYCLU also says the “irrebuttable presumption” clause is “flatly unconstitutional,” making it so that people accused of targeting first responders don’t have an opportunity to prove their innocence. It also gives first responders more rights than the citizens they’re sworn to protect.

Interestingly, one of the sponsors of the bill, Arnold Drucker, pulled his support from the bill after listening to constituents push back against it.

–Dana