Andrew Cuomo has spent millions on his legal defense against his #MeToo accusers. New York taxpayers are footing the bill
CNN
The state has expensed more than $20.5 million for the legal defense of Andrew Cuomo and several officials who worked in the executive chamber.
In the summer of 2023, Ana Liss sat in a law firm conference room in Rochester, New York, to be deposed — again. This time the ordeal lasted more than eight hours, she recalls, with a brief lunch break in the middle of the day. She was questioned repeatedly by Andrew Cuomo’s lawyer about her time working for New York state and her allegations of misconduct against the former governor. Liss made the unusual — and inadvisable — decision that day to not have her lawyer present for the deposition. “I tried to MacGyver my way through it,” she told CNN in a recent interview. “I tried to muddle through. That’s not the best tactic, but it’s a way to save money.” Liss was one of the multiple aides who accused then-Gov. Cuomo of misconduct in 2021. She described the Capitol’s Executive Chamber as “a toxic, verbally abusive, retaliatory workplace, especially for young women like myself” — allegations that Cuomo and his top aides deny. Even though Liss never sued Cuomo — she said at the time she decided to speak out to show support to other accusers — she has nevertheless been saddled with legal bills to the tune of around $30,000 so far, she said. Those bills have been related to a New York attorney general’s investigation into the allegations she and others leveled against Cuomo, in which Liss was first deposed, as well as a lawsuit that a state trooper launched against Cuomo that led to Liss’ second deposition in 2023. A mother to two young kids now working on economic development in upstate New York, Liss is determined to spare her family thousands of additional dollars in legal fees. Cuomo, however, does not share that financial concern: His legal fees for defending against lawsuits brought by several former employees continue to be covered largely by New York taxpayers four years after he announced his resignation as governor.
A transparency law passed by Congress has forced the release of more Epstein files than ever before, but some lawmakers and victims are exploring ways to push the Justice Department to disclose even more information from the voluminous trove that’s being withheld.
Former US National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent sat Wednesday for an extensive interview with former Fox News host and right-wing podcaster Tucker Carlson, his first public comments since he resigned from his post, citing concerns about the war with Iran.
When Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon, they hoped to boost members’ confidence on their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. Within half an hour, Democratic lawmakers had walked out.
Cuba is going dark under US pressure. How the crisis unfolded and why its troubles are far from over
Almost three months after the US effectively imposed an oil blockade on Cuba that worsened its energy crunch, nearly every aspect of Cuban society has been feeling the strain.
The Department of Homeland Security has been ensnared by a partial government shutdown as Congress did not act to fund the agency by the end of Friday. But nearly all DHS workers will remain on the job — even if many won’t get paid until the lapse ends — and the public probably won’t notice much of a change.
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is moving away from operations tied to the Iran war and sailing to the US Navy’s base in Crete for repairs after a fire broke out in the ship’s laundry area last week, a US official said.
An American college student visiting friends for spring break has gone missing in Spain, his family said, adding police have his phone.
A typically friendly setting for one of their own turned tense on Capitol Hill Wednesday with senators grilling Markwayne Mullin for roughly three hours as he vies to become President Donald Trump’s next Department of Homeland Security chief.
Top Trump administration officials testified publicly Wednesday for the first time since the launch of the Iran war three weeks ago.
The White House is temporarily lifting key limits on the shipping of oil, gas and other commodities throughout the US, in its latest effort to counter rising energy prices sparked by its war with Iran.
Any attempt by the United States to take control of Cuba would be met with “impregnable resistance,” Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said Tuesday, as power returned to some parts of the island following a nationwide grid collapse.
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files and asserted it does not have new evidence to prosecute anyone for crimes related to the convicted sex offender, in an interview released Tuesday.
TSA workers face reality of working without pay as passengers unaware of the shutdown see long lines
More than a third of the security screeners at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport didn’t show up to work Tuesday, the airport’s general manager said, causing passengers to have to wait in line for up to two hours.