Gov. Paterson Resign NOW!

by: Soundpolitic

Tue Mar 02, 2010 at 15:37:35 PM EST

NOW calls on NY Gov. Paterson to resign

By MICHAEL GORMLEY (AP) - 1 hour ago

ALBANY, N.Y. - The National Organization for Women on Tuesday urged New York Gov. David Paterson to resign because of a report he directed two staffers to contact a woman about a domestic violence case involving one of his top aides.

The group is highly influential in Democratic politics and called for the governor's resignation despite what it considers Paterson's "excellent" record of strong support for women's issues and in combatting domestic violence.

"It is inappropriate for the governor to have any contact or to direct anyone to contact an alleged victim of violence," said Marcia Pappas, president of NOW New York State. "This latest news is very disappointing for those of us who believed the governor was a strong advocate for women's equality and for ending violence against women."

"It is now time for the governor to step down," she said in the written statement.

There was no immediate comment from Paterson's office. Some leading Democrats have said he should resign to avoid further damage to the party in the 2010 elections. Paterson has said he did nothing wrong and won't resign.

Yeah...Paterson also said he'd run for election.  That lasted less than a week...

The two-year anniversary of Spitzer's resignation is March 17.  With powerful organizations like NOW calling for Paterson to step down, he may not last long enough to mark the occasion.

Again?

by: simonstl

Fri Feb 05, 2010 at 17:10:33 PM EST

I've been holding off on writing about this, because it seems to come drip by drip. There are more of them appearing lately, though - Liz Benjamin, NGD, and now Capitol Confidential. The New York Times seems to be the journalistic epicenter of the story - we'll see what happens, I guess.

Destiny may not always be what it seems. If this turns out to be real, I fear for New York State going forward.

NRCC taken for hundreds of thousands of dollars

by: robert.harding

Thu Mar 13, 2008 at 22:55:28 PM EDT

National Republican Congressional Committee officials acknowledged publicly today that they have found discrepancies in their books of more than a million dollars and evidence that the NRCC's former treasurer, Christopher Ward, made "several hundred thousand dollars" worth of unauthorized wire transfers out of the committee that appear to have ended up in Ward's own bank accounts.

The NRCC launched an internal probe and contacted the FBI in January after learning that Ward "apparently fabricated and submitted 2006 financial statements to the NRCC's bank," according to a memo issued by the committee today. Some details of the probe have been reported previously, but today's memo and press briefing by a lawyer retained by the committee marked the fullest public accounting so far of the unfolding scandal.

...

The NRCC has found that the amount of cash on hand it reported to the Federal Election Commission at the end of 2006 was approximately $990,000 more than the committee actually had in the bank. The total the NRCC reported in the bank to the FEC as of Jan. 31, 2008, was $740,000 more than the actual amount, and the committee has discovered that it owes $200,000 more on its outstanding line of credit than it has reported to the FEC.

A couple of things here. First, Ward robbed them blind. The amounts being discussed here are enormous. Also, you would think that the leaders of this committee (Tom Reynolds, anyone?) would know if these amounts of money were being ripped off.  

Not today

by: simonstl

Tue Mar 11, 2008 at 16:07:34 PM EDT

It should be today, I think, unless it could have been yesterday, but it looks like it won't be today:

Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who spent much of the day considering his options with close advisers, will not resign his office on Tuesday, according to a person involved in the discussions.

Not much there on why.

Governor David A. Paterson

by: NYCO

Mon Mar 10, 2008 at 22:03:46 PM EDT

But if Spitzer did resign, that's the name you'd be seeing for the next three years.

What do you think?  Would this represent a trade-up, or at least a good deal, in your view, considering Spitzer's strengths, weaknesses and current serious problems?  What would it mean for efforts to take the state senate?  How would upstate New Yorkers feel?  How would Republicans and independents react?  Would the Three Men in a Room be any different?

Indulge in a thought experiment, if you will.

About Roger Stone's email list...

by: Michael Bouldin

Thu Aug 23, 2007 at 09:47:31 AM EDT

In Caputo and Stone are Liars, we asserted that the origin of Roger Stone's email list itself was a blast email by Ben Smith, which the latter had mistakenly sent in a way that let every recipient see every other recipient.

In short, [Ben] inadvertently produced a media contact list. That list seems to be the one that the Caputo/Stone emails are going to; it contains my non-Daily Gotham email, and features several people whom we know to be getting these messages - Matt Stoller, Phillip Anderson, Yoda of Room 8, myself, Azi Paybarah, and others. It notably does not contain the people who are not getting the emails, but logically should be. Such as, say, Liza [Sabater].

Ben just confirmed that we were right. Various members of his family are also getting the Stone NYFacts.net emails, for which there is no other realistic explanation. Ben previously confirmed that Roger Stone himself was copied on that email.

(Originally posted @ TDG)

Bruno, Stone and Caputo: Emailgate

by: Michael Bouldin

Fri Aug 17, 2007 at 00:54:09 AM EDT

So let's take a look at what we know, in the hope of clearing up some of the weirdness. There are three people whose names come to mind in this case. One is Michael Caputo, reputedly of Buffalo and/or Florida. The other is Roger Stone, a GOP consultant. The third is Joe Bruno.

I received my first email blast from Roger Stone on March 28th. This email went to an account not traceable from The Daily Gotham. My initial thought was that these emails originated with Jon Stone, a friend and a director with the Capitol D Group. That impression soon faltered, and Jon confirmed today by phone that he has nothing to do with his namesake.

On June 13th, Daily Politics quotes Roger Stone as having 'always been a Joe Bruno Republican'. The occasion was a fundraiser hosted in his apartment on Central Park South, billed as a 'skinny-cat' protest against a high-dollar fundraiser held in his condo building in a rented room by the Spitzer campaign. This is interesting, because Stone had previously been persona non grata with Albany republicans for his support of Tom Golisano, whom he advised in his three campaigns.

On July 2nd, Fred Dicker wrote his first piece on Brunogate, titled 'GOV PLAYS DIRTY POOL VS. BRUNO'. He followed up on July 5th with GOV'S TROOPER SNOOP JOB ON BRUNO and, on July 9th, with GOV AIDES FISHED FOR BRUNO BUSTERS.

On July 9th, NYFacts.net was registered, with the identity of the registrant masked by an anonymity service.

(X-Posted @ TDG)

NYPD spied on political activists - layers of a scandal

by: Michael Bouldin

Sun Mar 25, 2007 at 12:32:34 PM EDT

But potential troublemakers were hardly the only ones to end up in the files. In hundreds of reports stamped "N.Y.P.D. Secret," the Intelligence Division chronicled the views and plans of people who had no apparent intention of breaking the law, the records show.

These included members of street theater companies, church groups and antiwar organizations, as well as environmentalists and people opposed to the death penalty, globalization and other government policies. Three New York City elected officials were cited in the reports.

In at least some cases, intelligence on what appeared to be lawful activity was shared with police departments in other cities. A police report on an organization of artists called Bands Against Bush noted that the group was planning concerts on Oct. 11, 2003, in New York, Washington, Seattle, San Francisco and Boston. Between musical sets, the report said, there would be political speeches and videos.

"Activists are showing a well-organized network made up of anti-Bush sentiment; the mixing of music and political rhetoric indicates sophisticated organizing skills with a specific agenda," said the report, dated Oct. 9, 2003. "Police departments in above listed areas have been contacted regarding this event."

(Crossposted from The Daily Gotham)