DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

The Republican chairman of the bipartisan House Ethics Committee introduced a resolution on Friday to expel Representative George Santos of New York from Congress, citing the committee’s damning new report documenting pervasive campaign fraud and violations of House rules. The move by Representative Michael Guest of Mississippi, the committee’s chairman, laid the groundwork for a pivotal vote after Thanksgiving that could make Mr. Santos the sixth representative to be ejected in the chamber’s history. “The evidence uncovered in the Ethics Committee’s investigative subcommittee investigation is more than sufficient to warrant punishment,” Mr. Guest said in a statement accompanying his five-page resolution. “And the most appropriate punishment is expulsion.”Mr. Santos, a Republican, has survived two expulsion efforts after a crush of reports in The New York Times and other publications exposed his fabricated life story and federal prosecutors charged him with 23 felonies.

Persons: George Santos, Michael Guest of, Santos, Mr, Guest, ” Mr Organizations: Republican, The New York Times Locations: George Santos of New York, Michael Guest of Mississippi

☆ How Santos Spent Donors’ Money: Ferragamo, OnlyFans and Botox
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-16 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | More About Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He had just flipped a Long Island congressional seat, improbably helping deliver Republicans a House majority. Over just a few days last November, Mr. Santos dropped $6,000 at Ferragamo, perhaps some of it on the red designer sneakers he later wore to walk the marble halls of Congress. He paid off his rent, and he pulled out another $1,000 in spending money at an A.T.M. It would have been nothing for the kind of wealthy financier Mr. Santos purported to be on the campaign trail. All of it was being illegally funded by Mr. Santos’s congressional campaign, which wired him $20,000 just after Thanksgiving without ever telling campaign donors or the Federal Election Commission.

Persons: George Santos, Santos, Santos siphoned, propping Organizations: Mr, Commission Locations: Ferragamo, Queens

☆ Two Young Democratic Stars Collide Over Israel and Their Party’s Future
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | More About Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +5 min

“This is pursuing a proven and failed strategy,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said in a recent radio interview. Calls for a cease-fire by Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and others drew a stern rebuke from the White House, and she faced backlash for voting against a bipartisan resolution that expressed strong support for Israel. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who did not agree to an interview, met in Washington last month with the families of Jewish hostages kidnapped by Hamas. was trying to infiltrate the Democratic Party “to impose the ideological litmus tests on Israel” and “cleanse” those who disagree with them. It remains far from clear how many left-leaning Democrats Mr. Torres is moving.

Persons: Ms, Ocasio, Cortez, it’s, Rashida Tlaib, Cori Bush of, Israel, ”, Brad Lander, “ I’m, Dan Goldman, Torres, “, lurch, Torres’s, Mr, Democratic Party “, Israel ”, combativeness, Waleed Shahid, Torres “, ” Jeremy Cohan Organizations: Democratic, White, Israel, Democrats, Democratic Socialists of America, Democratic Party, City Council, New York Locations: Queens, Bronx, Michigan, Cori Bush of Missouri, Gaza, Washington, Alexandria, New York City, New York, Israel, Tel, New

And all three universities formed task forces to address antisemitism on campus. “Let me reiterate what I and other Harvard leaders have said previously: Antisemitism has no place at Harvard,” Dr. In addition, many pro-Palestinian students point out that they have faced doxxing and harassment — and they are asking on social media for similar efforts against Islamophobia. The groups have been at the center of weeks of intense demonstrations that have sharply divided students and shaken Columbia’s Manhattan campus. The university’s decision will bar the group from holding events on campus or receiving university funding through the end of the fall semester.

Persons: ” Dr, Gay, Gerald Rosberg, ” Organizations: Harvard, Palestinian, Columbia, Justice, Jewish, Peace Locations: Gaza, Israel, Egypt, Palestine, Manhattan

☆ Republicans Are Hammering Democrats on the Migrant Crisis. Will It Work?
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-06 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | Luis Ferré-Sadurní | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The county executive’s message was unequivocal: Erie County had an obligation to open its arms to the crush of migrants overwhelming New York City about 300 miles away. By August, two asylum seekers sheltered in the area had been arrested on sexual assault charges. And after Republicans blamed the county executive, Mark Poloncarz, a Democrat, he abruptly put a migrant relocation program on ice. The episode has been played on repeat this fall in attack ads blanketing the airwaves in Erie County as Republicans try to turn the migrant crisis gripping the state into a political cudgel to flip perhaps the most important elected office in western New York. Part of their strategy: attack ads focused on the busloads of migrants arriving in New York City, miles away from the suburbs.

Persons: Mark Poloncarz Organizations: Democrat Locations: Erie County, New York City, New York, Long, Suffolk County

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey had a problem — and, prosecutors say, an opportunity. And as New Jersey’s senior senator, Mr. Menendez was in a position to help, by recommending the next leader of the office overseeing the case. In early 2021, Mr. Menendez urged President Biden to nominate a lawyer he knew well as the state’s next U.S. attorney: Esther Suarez, a politically connected prosecutor in his home county. When White House and Justice Department officials interviewed Ms. Suarez, they found her knowledge of federal law lacking, and they had substantial concerns about her qualifications, according to four people familiar with the sessions. Mr. Menendez pushed for Ms. Suarez to be given another chance, the people said.

Persons: Robert Menendez, Menendez, Biden, Esther Suarez, Suarez, Mr Organizations: Robert Menendez of New, White, Justice Locations: Robert Menendez of, Robert Menendez of New Jersey

☆ How the G.O.P. Speaker Mess Has Divided N.Y. House Republicans
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | More About Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If there is one thing Representative Mike Lawler of New York wants his constituents to know these days, it is that his political party is an absolute mess. “Stuck on stupid,” he branded a band of hard-right Republicans who pulled Congress to the brink of a government shutdown. He said their ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy “undermined the will of the American people.” As for the fight over a replacement that has ground the House to a halt for two weeks and counting? His mounting frustration, voiced in interviews with reporters in the Capitol and on networks like CNN that are typically reviled on the right, is not merely an unusual display of bluntness. It is a risky gambit by one of the House’s most endangered Republicans to insulate himself from his own party as it careens, leaderless, toward another possible shutdown.

Persons: Mike Lawler, “, Kevin McCarthy “, Mr, Lawler, Jim Jordan Organizations: York, Republicans, CNN

☆ As Menendez’s Star Rose, Fears of Corruption Cast a Persistent Shadow
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | More About Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert Menendez’s education in political corruption came unusually early. In 1982, he turned against his mentor, Mayor William V. Musto of Union City, N.J., the popular leader of their gritty hometown. Mr. Menendez took the witness stand and testified that city officials had pocketed kickbacks on construction projects, helping to put a man many considered his father figure behind bars. Mr. Menendez, then 28, wore a bulletproof vest for a month. The son of Cuban immigrants, Mr. Menendez broke barriers for Latinos and has used his perch as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to influence presidents and prime ministers.

Persons: Robert Menendez’s, William V, Menendez Organizations: Democratic, Senate Foreign Relations Locations: Union City, N.J, Jersey, Washington

☆ A Major Effort to Ease the Migrant Crisis
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Matthew Cullen | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After months of calls for action from fellow Democrats, President Biden late last night announced that the U.S. would grant work permits and offer temporary protection to nearly half a million Venezuelans who had already entered the U.S.Venezuelans received the temporary protected status, known as T.P.S., for 18 months because U.S. officials determined that conditions in their home country prevent them from a safe return. The program does not provide a permanent path to legal residence, but has been used by presidents in both parties to grant humanitarian protections to migrants fleeing wars, natural disasters and other violence. The move is “really significant,” my colleague Nicholas Fandos told me, because the American immigration system has become so backlogged with asylum requests that tens of thousands of Venezuelans have been left in limbo. The move will have no greater impact than in New York City, which Nick called the “epicenter of the migrant crisis,” and where thousands of immigrants will soon be eligible to begin legally applying for work and eventually move out of taxpayer-funded shelters. Democratic leaders broadly praised the move, but some experts warned that it was, at most, a temporary solution to an immigration system that lawmakers in both parties agree is broken.

Persons: Biden, Nicholas Fandos, Nick Organizations: Democratic Locations: U.S, New York City

Maura Healey of Massachusetts, a liberal Democrat, has declared a state of emergency, activated the National Guard and started petitioning the White House for help. The migrants on state-funded buses from Texas are a fraction of the total number arriving in northern cities. Some of those migrants have family in New York, while others are attracted to the city’s history of welcoming immigrants. Still, the rising clamor is creating a rare convergence between the two parties, which for years have fought in seemingly parallel political universes. Endless Republican news conferences at the border and threats to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, were dismissed as political bluster.

Persons: Maura Healey, Star ”, “, Alejandro Mayorkas, shouldn’t, ”, Josh Riley, Marc Molinaro, Riley, Biden Organizations: Massachusetts, Democrat, National Guard, White House, Star, Republican, Democratic, Hudson Valley Republican, ”, Republicans Locations: Texas, . Texas, New York City, New York, Washington, Albany, Hudson

In New York, the arrival of more than 100,000 migrants seeking asylum over the past year has become a crisis for the city’s shelter system, schools and budget. As another critical election season begins to take shape, Nicholas Fandos, who covers New York State politics for The Times, explains why the situation has also become a political crisis for the state’s Democratic leaders.

Persons: Nicholas Fandos Organizations: New, The Times, Democratic Locations: New York, New York State

☆ New York’s Migrant Crisis Is Growing. So Are Democrats’ Anxieties.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | More About Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In many ways, those poor ratings have freed Democrats facing competitive races to distance themselves from their party in ways that telegraph to voters their understanding of the problem while differentiating themselves from Republicans’ more hard-line views on immigrants. It is a tricky balancing act. “Where you really get yourself in trouble as an elected official is when you don’t listen,” Mr. Ryan said, adding: “For political purposes, the MAGA Republicans want divisions and chaos. “In my district, the one person sitting at the table to fix this problem is Anthony D’Esposito, and he is doing nothing,” said Laura Gillen, a Democrat seeking a rematch against Mr. D’Esposito, who represents the South Shore of Long Island. (He and other New York Republicans helped pass an aggressive but partisan border security bill in May.)

Persons: ’, Ryan, Mr, MAGA, “, Anthony D’Esposito, ”, Laura Gillen, D’Esposito Organizations: MAGA Republicans, Republican, Mr, New, New York Republicans Locations: New York, Shore, Long

☆ Democrats Want to Flip N.Y. House Seats. But There’s a Primary Problem.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | More About Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There is time for leaders like Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the top House Democrat and a New Yorker, to intervene if they want to. While the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee rarely interferes in open primaries, there is a tradition of less direct maneuvering to boost preferred candidates and edge others out. The leader’s allies argue that the competition will strengthen their nominees and brush off concerns that Democrats will be short on funds. “Leader Jeffries has no plan to endorse in any Democratic primary in New York,” said Christie Stephenson, his spokeswoman. “He is confident that whoever emerges in these competitive districts will be strongly positioned to defeat the extreme MAGA Republican crowd.”

Persons: Hakeem Jeffries, Jeffries, Michelle Hinchey, Laura Curran, Tom Suozzi, George Santos, —, ”, Christie Stephenson Organizations: Democrat, New Yorker, Democratic Congressional, Mr, Democratic, PAC, New, “, Republican Locations: New, Hudson, Nassau County, Long, New York, Torrey Pines, Calif

A new front opened on Wednesday in an escalating battle among Democrats over how to handle large numbers of immigrants crossing the southern border and moving into major cities. The leaders of New York City and New York State, where officials say the arrival of migrants has set off a humanitarian crisis, seemed to turn on each other this week, after the state sent a scathing letter accusing the city of resisting its help and being slow to act. Kathy Hochul faulted Mayor Eric Adams’s management of New York’s migrant crisis in sharp terms, puncturing the appearance of city-state harmony that the two leaders have spent much of their tenures cultivating. New York City is struggling to accommodate more than 100,000 migrants who have arrived after crossing the border, more than 57,000 of whom remain in city shelters. Mr. Adams has said that the city is running out of space and funds to support them, and has criticized President Biden, saying “the president and the White House have failed New York City on this issue.” His posture has infuriated top Biden aides.

Persons: Kathy Hochul, Eric Adams’s, Adams, Biden Organizations: New Locations: New York City, New York State

Divisions among New York Democrats widened on Thursday around the influx of migrants arriving from the southern border, as the state attorney general took the unusual step of declining to represent Gov. Kathy Hochul in legal proceedings over how to care for thousands of newcomers. The attorney general, Letitia James, did not immediately publicize her reasoning. But a person familiar with her thinking said that Ms. James, a New York City native, had fundamental policy disagreements with the governor over the state’s role in managing the crisis. As thousands of new migrants overwhelm the five boroughs, he has asked the governor to provide greater financial assistance to the city and develop a coordinated plan to send arriving migrants across the state.

Persons: Kathy Hochul, Letitia James, James, Eric Adams Organizations: New York Democrats, Gov Locations: New York City, Manhattan

☆ The Secret Hand Behind the Women Who Stood by Cuomo? His Sister.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | More About Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

“Good Morning Just spoke and he thinks a distraction could be helpful today,” Ms. Cuomo wrote in the private texts reviewed by The New York Times. She suggested posting “photos of Charlotte In her sex kitten straddle” taken from Ms. Bennett’s Instagram account, potentially alongside more “austere, professional” ones of loyal Cuomo aides. “No respectable woman would EVER pose like that,” Ms. Cuomo added. The group swarmed his critics on social media, sold Cuomo swag and pushed for due process. But four of the group’s current leaders said in interviews that even as their work appeared organic to the outside world, Ms. Cuomo, 58, began privately exerting control.

Persons: Ms, Cuomo, Charlotte, Bennett’s, “, Cuomo swag Organizations: The New York Times, The Times Locations: York

“This is a room full of people who truly believe in the ability to go up against Adams and win,” said Cristina González, one of the hosts, on Thursday, after word of the meeting leaked. Mr. Adams will likely be a heavy favorite to capture a second term. He remains broadly popular with the coalition of Black and Latino voters outside of Manhattan who sent him to Gracie Mansion. Evan Thies, a spokesman for the Adams campaign, said in a statement that the mayor had lowered crime and “invested billions of dollars in working people” and that polls showed he had strong support from New Yorkers. “The fact that these folks would rather play politics in some back room two years before the election, instead of help the mayor help working people, tells you all you need to know about what they really care about: their own power,” he said.

Persons: Adams, ”, Cristina González, Gracie, Evan Thies Organizations: Democratic, New Yorkers Locations: Manhattan, New

Despite falling poll numbers and critical news coverage, Mayor Eric Adams clearly has the continued monetary support of two influential spheres of influence: real estate leaders and the donor class from New York City and beyond. Mr. Adams has raised $1.3 million since January for his 2025 re-election effort in the latest reporting period, drawing maximum $2,100 donations from real estate magnates like Marc Holliday, the chief executive of SL Green, the city’s largest commercial landlord, and its founder, Steve Green; and Alexander and Helena Durst, members of The Durst Organization real estate dynasty, according to new filings with the city’s Campaign Finance Board. About $550,000 came from donors outside New York City who live in the suburbs, Florida and other states — a continuation of a pattern displayed early in his tenure, when he held fund-raisers in Beverly Hills and Chicago in his first months in office. As mayor, Mr. Adams has often taken positions that benefit the real estate industry, including being supportive of rent increases and criticizing state lawmakers for failing to replace a tax-incentive program for developers known as 421a.

Persons: Eric Adams, Adams, Marc Holliday, Steve Green, Alexander, Helena Durst Organizations: SL Green, Organization, city’s Campaign Locations: New York City, Florida, Beverly Hills, Chicago

Representative George Santos, the New York Republican facing federal criminal charges, reported raising about $150,000 through his re-election campaign and an associated committee from April through June — a modest sum that he mostly used to pay back money he had lent to his past congressional bids. Mr. Santos had previously reported giving his own campaign more than $700,000 in personal loans, money that has been the subject of intense scrutiny given his apparent sudden rise in wealth and a lack of transparency around his business deals. On May 30, his campaign repaid him $85,000, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on Friday. Kellen Curry, a Republican primary challenger, said he raised more than $200,000 in the same period. Other candidates who have entered the race had yet to announce their totals ahead of a Saturday deadline.

Persons: George Santos, Santos, Santos’s, Zak Malamed, Kellen Curry Organizations: New York Republican, Federal, Democratic, Republican Locations: Long Island, Queens

☆ New York Is Ordered by Appeals Court to Redraw House Map
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | More About Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The LatestA New York appeals court on Thursday ordered the state’s congressional map to be redrawn, siding with Democrats in a case that could give the party a fresh chance to tilt one of the nation’s most contested House battlegrounds leftward. Wading into a long-simmering legal dispute, the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court in Albany said that the competitive, court-drawn districts put in place for last year’s midterms had only been a temporary fix. They ordered the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission to promptly restart a process that would effectively give the Democrat-dominated State Legislature final say over the contours of New York’s 26 House seats for the remainder of the decade. to commence its duties forthwith,” Elizabeth A. Garry, the presiding justice, wrote in the majority opinion, referring to the Independent Redistricting Commission. Two members of the five-judge panel dissented.

Persons: year’s midterms, ” Elizabeth A . Garry Organizations: Division, Democrat, Legislature, Independent Locations: York, Albany

☆ Ocasio-Cortez’s Unusual Place in N.Y. City Council Races: The Sidelines
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two years ago, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez set out to put her imprint on New York City government, using her personal clout and a leadership PAC to boost dozens of left-leaning candidates. Yet as New Yorkers prepare to go back to the polls next week to begin electing a new City Council, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has been practically invisible. Courage to Change, her political action committee that backed 60 candidates in 2021, has gone dormant. And while she has offered to quietly help left-leaning incumbents who dissented from last year’s city budget, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez has yet to issue any actual endorsements — and may not, as early voting began Saturday. “But in the meantime, please do not use Courage to Change PAC or A.O.C.

Persons: Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Ocasio, “ Organizations: PAC, City Council, The New York Times Locations: New York City

☆ Could Democrats Get Another Shot at Redistricting in New York?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Whatever happens, New York promises to be perhaps the most contested state in the nation for House races next year. Republicans outperformed expectations in New York during the 2022 midterm elections, leaving their candidates positioned to defend six districts President Biden won in 2020, two by double digits. “We think our chances are good, but it’s not something we are relying on,” said Jay Jacobs, the Democrats’ state party chairman. The court case was proceeding this week as Democrats in Albany used the final days of this year’s legislative session to try to shore up their electoral prospects in other ways. Democratic supermajorities in both legislative chambers appeared poised to adopt changes weakening New York’s new publicly financed donor-matching program in ways that would benefit incumbents.

Persons: Biden, ”, Jay Jacobs, Wasserman Organizations: House, Republicans, Democratic supermajorities Locations: New York, Albany

☆ Jamaal Bowman Finds His Voice. Some Republicans Don’t Like the Sound.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In this hyperpartisan era, the country has no shortage of politicians willing to savage each other from across a hearing room or on social media. Bowman, a media-savvy democratic socialist from the Bronx, has rapidly made a name for himself this spring by going where most of them have not: up to his opponents’ actual faces. Mr. Bowman’s platform includes far-reaching left-wing policies that split his party. Bowman, 47, to “calm down” as they argue over how to stop gun violence has already been viewed more than seven million times. Bowman, even though video showed her smiling as they sparred.

☆ Biden Woos Republican Moderates in Debt Ceiling Standoff
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Peter Baker | Nicholas Fandos | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden sought to drive a wedge among Republicans in their escalating dispute over spending and debt on Wednesday, effectively reaching out to moderates in hopes of convincing them to break away from Speaker Kevin McCarthy rather than risk triggering a national default that could throw the economy into a tailspin. Appearing in a competitive suburb with a vulnerable House Republican in his sights, Mr. Biden accused Mr. McCarthy of pursuing a radical strategy at the behest of the “extreme” wing of his party loyal to former President Donald J. Trump, putting the country in economic jeopardy in a way that he said reasonable Republicans of his own era in the Senate would not have done. “They’ve taken control of the House,” Mr. Biden said of this wing to a friendly audience at SUNY Westchester Community College in New York’s Hudson Valley. “They have a speaker who has his job because he yielded to the, quote, MAGA element of the party,” he added. Those hard-right Republicans, Mr. Biden said, are “literally, not figuratively, holding the economy hostage by threatening to default on our nation’s debt, debt we’ve already incurred, we’ve already incurred over the last couple hundred years, unless we give into their threats and demands.”

☆ These Are the Charges Against George Santos
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Nicholas Fandos | Rebecca Davis O Brien | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Federal prosecutors have charged Representative George Santos of New York with 13 counts of money laundering, stealing public money, wire fraud and making false statements to Congress. Prosecutors said the charges resulted from “fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations” designed to mislead donors, enrich Mr. Santos and win a seat in Congress as a Republican from Queens. The Times reported than Mr. Santos registered a company, RedStone Strategies, in November 2021, the same date noted in the indictment, and told donors it was an “independent expenditure” group, or super PAC. Mr. Santos was also charged with three counts of money laundering in connection to the donor solicitation scheme. Mr. Santos was earning $120,000 a year through his employment at a Florida-based investment company, but prosecutors said he repeatedly told the state he had been unemployed since March 2020.

Search resuls for: "Nicholas Fandos"

25 mentions found