
US opens criminal probe into New York mayoral candidate Cuomo
WASHINGTON : The US department of justice has opened a criminal investigation into Andrew Cuomo, a Democratic frontrunner in the New York mayoral race, after Republicans accused him of lying to Congress about his actions as governor during the Covid-19 pandemic, US media reported.
The reported probe comes after the Trump administration dropped corruption charges last month against the current New York mayor Eric Adams, who is running for reelection and has been accused of cozying up to president Donald Trump for political gain.
Adams – a Democrat who had been accused of wire fraud, soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations and a bribery conspiracy – has vowed to assist Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration, sparking criticisms of an alleged quid pro quo between the mayor and Trump's administration.
The US attorney's office in Washington began the inquiry against Cuomo about a month ago, the New York Times reported yesterday, citing two unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Republican members of Congress have pushed for the justice department to investigate Cuomo, alleging he lied while testifying during a congressional probe into Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes during the pandemic.
In 2021, Cuomo resigned in disgrace after 10 years as governor of New York following accusations of sexual harassment. A prosecutor dropped related charges against him in Jan 2022.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi told CBS the former governor had not been contacted by law enforcement about the investigation related to the Covid deaths case, and questioned why it would be leaked now.
'The answer is obvious: This is lawfare and election interference plain and simple – something President Trump and his top department of justice officials say they are against,' Azzopardi said, according to CBS.
New York, the largest US city, is a bastion of the Democratic party, and the party's candidate – chosen in a June primary – will be the favorite to win November's mayoral election.
Adams, the Democratic incumbent, has said he will run as an independent.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Star
4 hours ago
- The Star
Epstein furor undermining public trust, Republican election hopes, two US lawmakers say
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The uproar over disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could undermine public trust in the Trump administration, as well as Republican hopes of retaining control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, two U.S. lawmakers said on Sunday. Republican Representative Thomas Massie and Democratic Representative Ro Khanna, who want the House of Representatives to vote on their bipartisan resolution requiring full release of the government's Epstein files, said the lack of transparency is reinforcing public perceptions that the rich and powerful live beyond the reach of the judicial system. "This is going to hurt Republicans in the midterms. The voters will be apathetic if we don't hold the rich and powerful accountable," Massie, a hardline conservative from Kentucky, told NBC's "Meet the Press" program. Republicans hope to add to their current 219-212 House majority -- with four seats currently vacant -- and 53-47 Senate majority in November 2026, although the U.S. political cycle traditionally punishes the party of the sitting president during midterm elections. Khanna said Attorney General Pam Bondi triggered "a crisis of trust" by saying there was no list of Epstein clients after previously implying that one existed. The change in position unleashed a tsunami of calls for her resignation from Trump's MAGA base. "This is about trust in government," the California Democrat told "Meet the Press." "This is about being a reform agent of transparency." President Donald Trump, who is playing golf and holding bilateral trade talks in Scotland, has been frustrated by continued questions about his administration's handling of investigative files related to Epstein's criminal charges and 2019 death by suicide in prison. Massie and Khanna believe they can win enough support from fellow lawmakers to force a vote on their resolution when Congress returns from its summer recess in September. But they face opposition from Republican leaders including House Speaker Mike Johnson, who sent lawmakers home a day early to stymie Democratic efforts to force a vote before the break. Johnson, who also appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," said he favors a non-binding alternative resolution that calls for release of "credible" evidence, but which he said would better protect victims including minors. "The Massie and Khanna discharge petition is reckless in the way that it is drafted and presented," Johnson said. "It does not adequately include those protections." Massie dismissed Johnson's claim as "a straw man" excuse. "Ro and I carefully crafted this legislation so that the victims' names will be redacted," he said. "They're hiding behind that." Trump, who weathered two impeachments and a federal probe into contacts between his 2016 campaign and Russia during his first presidential term, has tried and failed so far to distract attention from the Epstein controversy six months into his second term. On Saturday, Trump repeated his claims without evidence that 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and other Democrats should be prosecuted over payment for endorsements from celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce and the Reverend Al Sharpton. "Kamala, and all of those that received Endorsement money, BROKE THE LAW. They should all be prosecuted!" Trump said on social media. Last week he accused former President Barack Obama of "treason" over how the Obama administration treated intelligence about Russian interference in U.S. elections nine years ago, drawing a rebuke from an Obama spokesperson. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a staunch Trump ally, said on Sunday that Tulsi Gabbard, Trump's director of national intelligence, had found new information that investigators initially discovered no evidence of Russian election interference but changed their position after Obama told them to keep looking. "I'm not alleging he committed treason, but I am saying it bothers me," Graham told "Meet the Press." "The best way to handle this is if there is evidence of a crime being committed, or suspected evidence of a crime being committed, create a special counsel to look at it," Graham added. Democratic Representative Jason Crow dismissed Gabbard's claims, telling the "Fox News Sunday" program that the national intelligence director had turned herself into "a weapon of mass distraction." The Department of Justice has said it is forming a strike force to assess Gabbard's claims. (Reporting by David MorganEditing by Colleen Jenkins and Leslie Adler)


New Straits Times
7 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Trump's distraction methods fall flat against Epstein uproar
UNITED States President Donald Trump's super powers as a public figure have long included the ability to redirect, evade and deny. But the Republican's well-worn methods of changing the subject when a tough topic stings politically are not working as his White House fends off persistent unrest from his usually loyal base about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associates. Trump has scolded reporters, claimed ignorance and offered distractions in an effort to quash questions about Epstein and the suspicions still swirling around the disgraced financier's case years after his 2019 death in prison. The demand for answers has only grown. "For a president and an administration that's very good at controlling a narrative, this is one that's been harder," said Republican strategist Erin Maguire, a former Trump campaign spokesman. Unlike political crises that dogged Trump's first term, including two impeachments and a probe into alleged campaign collusion with Russia, the people propelling the push for more transparency on Epstein have largely been his supporters, not his political foes. Trump has fed his base with conspiracy theories for years, including the false "birther" claim that former president Barack Obama was not born in the US. Trump's advisers fanned conspiracies about Epstein, too, only to declare them moot upon entering office. That has not gone over well with the president's right-leaning base, which has long believed the government was covering up Epstein's ties to the rich and powerful. "Trump's been running a Ponzi scheme based on propaganda for the better part of a decade and it's finally catching up to him," said Geoff Duncan, a Republican former lieutenant governor of Georgia and Trump critic. "The far right element is just dug in. They're hell bent on getting this information out." The White House has dismissed reporting about Trump's ties to Epstein as "fake news", though it has acknowledged his name appears in documents related to the Epstein case. T rump and Epstein were friends for years before falling out. "The only people who can't seem to shake this story from their one-track minds are the media and Democrats," said White House spokesman Harrison Fields. Before leaving for a trip to Scotland last Friday, the president again urged people to turn their attention elsewhere. "People should really focus on how well the country is doing," said Trump, lamenting that scrutiny was not being given to others in Epstein's orbit. "They don't talk about them, they talk about me. I have nothing to do with the guy." Trump in recent weeks has employed a typical diversion playbook. He chastised a reporter for asking about Epstein in the White House Cabinet Room. He claimed in the Oval Office that he was not paying close attention to the issue. And, with help from Tulsi Gabbard, his director of national intelligence, he explosively accused Obama of treason for how he treated intelligence in 2016 about Russian interference in the US election. On Thursday Trump took his distraction tour to the Federal Reserve (Fed), where he tussled with chair Jerome Powell about construction costs and pressed for lower interest rates. That, said Republican strategist Brad Todd, was more effective than focusing on Obama in 2016, which voters had already litigated by putting Trump back in office. "The Tulsi Gabbard look backward, I think, is not the way for them to pivot," said Todd, noting that Trump's trip to the Fed highlighted the issue of economic affordability and taking on a Washington institution. "If I was him I'd go to the Fed every day until rates are cut." Democrats have seized on Trump's efforts to move on, sensing a political weakness for the president and divisions in the Republican Party that they can exploit while their own political stock is low in the wake of last year's drubbing at the polls. A Reuters/Ipsos poll this month showed most Americans think Trump's administration is hiding information about Epstein, creating an opportunity for Democrats to press. Trump's supporters and many Democrats are eager to see a release of government files related to Epstein and his case, which the Justice Department initially promised to deliver. "Yesterday was another example of the Trump folks trying to throw as much stuff against the wall to avoid the Epstein files," said Mark Warner, a Democratic US senator from Virginia.


Malay Mail
9 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Trivial pursuit? Not anymore — Trump's tariffs are making tabletop gaming a costly business in US
ANNAPOLIS, July 27 — At a strip mall in Maryland, a miniature landscape extends across a table between Dash Krempel and his friend as a war game unfolds. But their hobby is becoming more expensive as US tariffs take a toll. Krempel, 29, told AFP the cost of models for tabletop games have surged from inflation, and continued rising since US President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on trading partners this year. UK-made figurines that cost US$60 (RM255) around three years ago now go for US$94.50, he said. 'Prices have gotten bigger,' he added. 'It's a very expensive hobby to begin with, so it's maybe pricing a lot of people out.' Instead of buying more products, he now tries to support retailer Game Kastle College Park by renting tables to play in-store. For the shop's owner, Boyd Stephenson, stocking new board games, paints and hobby supplies has only become more challenging. To avoid the harshest of Trump's tariffs, some suppliers had to delay shipments or postpone new releases. As they raised their suggested retail prices, so has Stephenson at Game Kastle. About a fifth of his store's products have seen cost hikes, with increases ranging from 5 per cent to 20 per cent. 'If we see higher prices or higher tariffs, I'm going to see higher wholesale prices, and then I have to raise my prices accordingly,' he said. Asked what per centage of his store relies on imports, Stephenson replied: 'Almost all of it.' Games for sale that are made overseas, including in China, are seen for sale on a store shelf as Boyd Stephenson, owner of Game Kastle, speaks about the effects of tariffs on his store at his store in College Park, Maryland, July 24, 2025. — AFP pic No capacity Stephenson estimates some 7,000 board games were released last year from 5,000 different companies. 'You're really looking at 5,000 different approaches (to tariffs),' he said. 'Some producers are saying, 'We're going to eat the cost.' Some producers are saying, 'We're passing the cost through all the way.' And other producers are doing some sort of mix of that.' Like other US retailers, Stephenson could face more cost pressures come August 1, when steeper tariffs are set to hit dozens of economies like the European Union and India. The elevated rates mark an increase from the 10 per cent levy Trump imposed on goods from most economies in April. While China — a crucial manufacturing hub for games — is temporarily spared, Trump has separately imposed fresh 30 per cent tariffs on products from the world's second biggest economy this year. US tariffs on Chinese products could return to higher levels from August 12 if officials fail to extend their truce. Yet, there is no quick fix to return manufacturing to the United States. 'US manufacturers just don't have the capacity to do that anymore,' said Stephenson, showing an intricate board game figurine. 'Really, the people that are good at that, that's China,' he said. 'The best modelling paints come from Spain.' 'So if you see tariffs get put up on the EU, then all of a sudden I'm going to have to pay higher prices on modelling paint when I bring it into the country,' he added. Trump has threatened the bloc with a 30 per cent tariff. A player moves pieces of the game 'Star Wars Legion', which is mostly made in China, at Game Kastle in College Park, Maryland, July 24, 2025. — AFP pic 'Universally bad' Stephenson tries to absorb some cost hikes, but said: 'I have to be able to pay the staff, pay the electric company, pay the landlord.' Trump's on-again, off-again approach to duties has also made suppliers' price changes more unpredictable. 'What is always universally bad for business is uncertainty,' Stephenson said. He usually stocks up on inventory ahead of the year-end holiday season, but expects to be more strategic with purchases this year to avoid unwelcome surprises. Many companies are delaying merchandise imports as they lack certainty, said Jonathan Gold, vice president of supply chain and customs policy at the National Retail Federation. 'When the product is brought into the country and entered into commerce, you have 15 days to pay your tariff bill,' he said. This causes problems when tariff rates change and businesses lack funds to pay for orders. Some businesses, and industry group the Game Manufacturers Association, have mounted legal challenges against Trump's blanket tariffs hitting various countries, noting nearly 80 per cent of tabletop games sold in the US are made abroad. But such complaints are an uphill battle. 'The damage, especially for small retailers, has been significant,' Gold said. — AFP