LO council candidate arrested on illegal electioneering charge
The 26-year-old Mora was reported to the Sutter County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) by a Sutter County precinct inspector last November. The precinct inspector reported Mora was 'interfering with the election by wearing a campaign shirt and video recording inside the polling place with his cell phone,' the SCSO wrote in a press release on July 7.
'It should be noted that observers shall not display any election material or wear campaign badges, buttons or apparel or intimidate a voter by means of photographing, video recording, or otherwise recording a voter entering or exiting a polling place, or at the central county location,' officials said.
A warrant was issued for Mora's arrest. The SCSO said that he was located riding his bike in Live Oak and booked into the Sutter County Jail without incident.
He is accused of violating a section of the California Elections Code that restricts activities at polling places on election day.
Mora was released after his booking on the misdemeanor charge.
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Washington Post
12 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Democrats try to flip the script on red tape
Good morning, Early Birds. Are we really debating Superman's immigration status? Send tips to earlytips@ Thanks for waking up with us. In today's edition … Trump's fiction about gas prices … Democrats are already publicly angling in the 2028 presidential fight … Republicans in Congress are warming to a sanctions bill against Russia … but first … President Donald Trump's red-tape event in 2017 was not subtle: Stacks of paperwork. Large golden scissors. And a massive piece of red tape. The message was clear. Trump, a Republican who campaigned on ending regulatory burdens and cutting government regulations, was physically cutting red tape in office. 'The never-ending red tape in America has come to a sudden, screeching and beautiful halt,' Trump said. Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill, which the president signed into law earlier this month, does anything but that for many Americans — and Democrats have taken notice. 'It is doubling what you have to prove every year that you qualify for Medicaid. It is not just able-bodied adults who now have to do that much more or that much more often. … It is everyone,' said Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat who has led the charge against this additional paperwork. 'What you see in the projections are the expectations that people will make mistakes on double the paperwork and thus lose their coverage for a period.' Red tape and additional paperwork are central to this bill's attempt to cut the federal government's spending on Medicaid, the government health care program for a range of low-income Americans. Direct cuts to Medicaid benefits pose significant political risks for Republicans, and many have pledged not to support them. However, to cut the federal government's costs, the bill imposes a slate of additional paperwork on all Medicaid recipients, including stricter work requirements that require recipients to prove they are working and eligible for the program. As Michelle Miller-Adams and Beth C. Truesdale, researchers at the nonpartisan, nonprofit W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, put it: 'The reality is that requirements like these move people off programs not by requiring work but by requiring more reporting of work. Similar state-level policies have reduced the number of Medicaid recipients — but only by increasing the administrative burden on recipients, not by increasing the share who are employed.' The researchers noted that Arkansas implemented work requirements in 2018. While more than 95 percent of recipients either met the state's work requirement or qualified for an exemption, the required steps to prove so led to 17,000 individuals losing their Medicaid coverage. Republicans deny that the new requirements are merely a means to remove eligible people from Medicaid, arguing that verification requirements are a fair measure to protect the program. Kush Desai, a Trump spokesperson, said Democrats are 'either too disingenuous or too dumb' to differentiate between regulations on businesses and 'the current federal government ensuring that thousands of dollars' worth of taxpayer benefits meant for America's most vulnerable aren't being fraudulently funneled to illegal aliens or able-bodied adults.' But Democrats, like Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), are rejecting that Republican view. 'They really aren't work requirements. These are red tape requirements,' Jeffries said this week on the What A Day podcast. 'These are paperwork requirements that are trying to deny people … who have earned the benefits. … Republicans are trying to find ways to disqualify them.' Democrats now plan to use the new regulations against a party that has long championed less red tape and regulation for businesses. 'No amount of cynicism or shameless spin will change the fact that more Republican red tape will result in 17 million people losing their health insurance — and we will make these frauds own that reality for the next 15 months,' said Justin Chermol, a spokesperson for the Democratic campaign committee tasked with taking back the House. The political messaging from Beshear and others turns conventional political wisdom — that Democrats favor a bigger government and Republicans are against red tape — on its head, said Donald Moynihan, professor at the University of Michigan's Ford School of Public Policy. 'This is a case where conventional wisdom fails,' Moynihan said. 'In fact, Republicans are much more supportive of a larger, more intrusive government — when it comes to accessing safety net benefits, you have to provide more information, you have to provide it more frequently, you have to spend more of your life interacting with bureaucracies.' He added: 'For a long time, that paradox or contradiction was not clear in the way it has become very clear with the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill. It has just become harder and harder for Republicans to say, 'We are the party of small government.'' Beshear, who has now won two competitive gubernatorial campaigns and may run for president in 2028, said he is now urging his administration to 'use every bit of information we have to ensure those who qualify for Medicaid stay on it' and to find ways to 'help people fill out that paperwork right.' Politically, however, the governor said he thinks this additional red tape on Americans is part of a broader Democratic messaging strategy aimed at countering the newly signed bill, one that he hopes will focus on real people's stories. 'When you remove health care from at least 200,000 Kentuckians, people die, people suffer,' said Beshear. He added later, 'People are going to lose their coverage because they fail to check this box or that box, and that is just wrong.' Republicans in Congress are showing openness to a sanctions bill against Russia for dragging its feet to make peace in Ukraine. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told reporters yesterday that he would take up the issue with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) next week. Trump has strengthened the push for sanctions by making his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin increasingly obvious, as we wrote about yesterday. He said he was open to a bill by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) that would sanction the country's energy and defense industries and impose a hefty 500 percent tariff on any country that buys Russian energy. The bill has wide support across the Senate, with 80 co-sponsors. The United States already imposed sanctions on Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and encouraged allies to diversify away from Russian energy. Several European countries, including Germany, were heavily reliant on Russian natural gas before the invasion but have made efforts to wean themselves off it. China and India are both still large consumers of Russian energy. Trump, once again, falsely claimed that gasoline costs $1.99 a gallon in multiple states and accused his opponents of lying about price increases during his second term in office. 'Yesterday, … two states, three states were selling gasoline at $1.99. You haven't seen that for a long time,' Trump said during a meeting with African leaders at the White House. 'I brought costs way down, just about every cost. I can't think of a cost that went up.' Then, referring to his opponents, Trump added: 'So what they do is they lie and say prices are going up. It's such a lie.' There is zero evidence that any state is selling gas at $1.99 a gallon. According to the AAA Fuel Prices metric, the lowest average gas price can be found in Mississippi at $2.705. The average price nationwide is $3.162. We asked the White House which three states Trump was referring to but did not receive a response. Some have noted that Trump may be referring to the wholesale price of gas, but even that price is higher than $1.99, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Is the race to be the next Democratic presidential nominee heating up? Yes, it's early. Yes, people are still tired from 2024. And yes, Democrats have a lot to focus on in opposing Trump. But, also yes, things seem to be heating up. Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, often mentioned as a possible 2028 Democratic candidate, will travel to Iowa next month. He plans to visit with voters at the famed Iowa State Fair, a frequent stop for presidential candidates, and hold a town hall with Iowa Democrats. While Iowa has fallen out of favor with Democrats in recent years, trips to the state often stoke presidential speculation. Gallego even touted the visit with a polished hype video, featuring resplendent footage of barns and corn and people chanting the senator's name, all set to Queen's 1977 hit, 'We Will Rock You.' California Gov. Gavin Newsom, another Democrat who may run, made a visit Tuesday to South Carolina, the state that led off the Democratic nominating process in 2024. 'I think it's really important for Democrats that we spend time in parts of our states, parts of our country, that frankly, we haven't spent enough time in, and so that's why I'm here,' Newsom said during his trip. Our colleague Maeve Reston tracked Newsom across South Carolina and found Democrats excited, but also worried, about another Californian at the top of their presidential ticket. There are ages between now and the 2028 presidential election, but the possible contenders are already making moves. Minnesota Reformer (Minnesota): Preppers are an interesting, yet growing, bunch, and they will be gathering soon in Minnesota. This shirt is worth the click alone: 'Noah was a conspiracy theorist … then it rained.' LebTown (Lebanon County, Pennsylvania): Rep. Dan Meuser, a Pennsylvania Republican, announced he will not run for governor in 2026, declining to challenge popular Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. Atlanta Journal Constitution (Atlanta): Can you hear the ripeness in a watermelon? Is this why people are always knocking on watermelons in the grocery store? And, as the story asks, should you pat or slap? The Dallas Morning News (Dallas): Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said yesterday that he would convene a special session of the state legislature to respond to the devastating flooding in Texas and, among other things, to raise the possibility of redistricting the state's congressional delegation as Republicans fight to hold their House majority. We wanted to say thank you for responding to our questions about the local media you would like to see featured in our newsletter. We even included one suggestion above! Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. What do you think of the award? Is there someone you feel should receive the honor? Let us know what you think at earlytips@ Thanks for reading. You can follow Dan and Matthew on X: @merica and @matthewichoi.
Fast Company
18 minutes ago
- Fast Company
While Grok had an antisemitic meltdown, XAI gets permission to blast tons of emissions to keep it running
On June 8, Elon Musk's chatbot, Grok, launched into a tirade of antisemitic, white supremacist, and misogynistic tweets on X, including making multiple comments praising Adolf Hitler. The incident comes just days after xAI, the artificial intelligence startup powering Grok, received clearance to operate 15 natural gas turbines at its data center outside Memphis. The turbines will be permitted to release a certain amount of emissions each year—including nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde—which, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), are a threat not only to the environment, but also to the health of local community members. Now, as Grok comes under fire for hate speech, its parent company is facing a lawsuit for potentially violating the Clean Air Act. Here's what to know about Grok's most recent problematic rant, and the controversial data center fueling the chatbot: What happened with Grok? In a series of replies highlighted by users on Tuesday, Grok used the antisemitic dog whistle phrase 'every damn time,' violently described acts of sexual assault, and repeatedly praised Hitler. This isn't the first time that the chatbot's algorithm has regurgitated misinformation or hate speech, either: During the 2024 presidential election, Grok spread misinformation for over a week, and this May, a tweak to the chatbot's programming caused it to constantly repeat false claims about 'white genocide' in South Africa, which were repeatedly supported by Musk himself. Grok was explicitly developed as an 'anti-woke' alternative to other chatbots, and was trained on data pulled from the increasingly conservative environment on X with few guardrails around extremist content, but the most recent comments were particularly vitriolic. In response, the Grok account tweeted that it was 'actively working' to remove the inappropriate posts, and Musk himself added that Grok was 'too eager to please and be manipulated.' Following the incident, X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced she was stepping down. Amidst all of this chaos, it might've been easy to miss the news that xAI is actively investing even more funds—and greenhouse gas emissions—into furthering the AI technology that powers Grok. Why xAI is facing an NAACP lawsuit for its South Memphis data center Currently, xAI is developing the AI technology that powers Grok using a supercomputer facility called Colossus outside of Memphis, Tennessee. Data centers like Colossus generally require a lot of energy because, on average, running AI software takes about 10 times the electricity of equivalent non-AI software. Due to this massive demand, the majority of AI data centers can't count on the existing grid to provide enough power for their purposes at any given time. So, companies like xAI turn to their own, outside power sources for a constant supply of fuel. On July 2, regulators at the Shelby County Health Department granted xAI permission to operate 15 natural gas turbines to fuel the data center. The permit gives xAI clearance to emit certain amounts of pollution every 12 months to power Colossus, including 87 tons of nitrogen oxides, 94 tons of carbon monoxide, 73 tons of particulate pollution, and 9.8 tons of formaldehyde (a known carcinogen), among others. But, according to the SELC, that's not a full accounting of the total pollution. On June 15, on behalf of the NAACP, the SELC sent a letter to xAI signaling its intent to sue the company over 'continued use of unpermitted gas turbines' at its South Memphis data center, alleging that the company violated the Clean Air Act by operating dozens of polluting turbines without permits or public oversight. In a press release, the SELC claims that, after xAI began its operations at the data center in June 2024 (long before the county granted this most recent permission), the company began installing dozens of methane gas turbines without any permits. ' Aerial images obtained by SELC revealed 35 turbines at the site in March, and follow-up thermal images obtained in April showed that nearly all of the turbines were emitting significant amounts of heat, indicating they were running,' the release reads. ' New satellite images show that, while the company has removed some smaller-sized turbines, it has recently installed three larger turbines.' The statement goes on to note that gas turbines release smog-forming pollution and chemicals that are 'tied to increases in asthma, respiratory diseases, heart problems, and certain cancers,' adding that the South Memphis data center is located near several predominantly Black communities that are already overburdened with industrial pollution. In May, the SELC also claimed that it had uncovered documents indicating that xAI plans to install between 40 and 90 methane gas turbines at a second South Memphis data center, though that finding was quickly refuted by the Greater Memphis Chamber. Currently, the NAACP's lawsuit against xAI is still pending. In regard to the Shelby County Health Department's recent turbine approvals, the SELC argued in a July 2 press release that the decision 'ignores the facility's continued use of turbines not covered by the permit and months of intense public pushback.' 'The decision to give xAI an air permit for its polluting gas turbines flies in the face of the hundreds of Memphians who spoke out against the company's permit request,' Amanda Garcia, an SELC Senior Attorney, said in the release. 'Instead of confronting long-standing air pollution problems in South Memphis, the Shelby County Health Department is turning a blind eye to obvious Clean Air Act violations in order to allow another polluter to set up shop in this already-overburdened community without appropriate protections.'
CNN
21 minutes ago
- CNN
Andrew Cuomo has spent millions on his legal defense against his #MeToo accusers. New York taxpayers are footing the bill
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. As of early July, the state had expensed $20.5 million for the legal defense of Cuomo and several officials who worked in the executive chamber from three ex-employees who have sued them: Brittany Commisso, an anonymous state trooper known as 'Trooper 1' and Charlotte Bennett. That eye-popping figure, provided to CNN by the New York state comptroller's office, is separate from an additional $11.7 million in fees footed by taxpayers for legal bills related to multiple scandals Cuomo confronted at the end of his tenure as governor. Those include sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo that were investigated by the New York attorney general; his controversial handling of the Covid-19 crisis; and the potential impeachment proceedings he faced before his resignation in August 2021. Cuomo's legal defense has continued as he attempted to make a political comeback. He suffered a stunning defeat in the New York City mayoral Democratic primary contest last month, losing to Zohran Mamdani, a progressive democratic socialist. He will still appear on the 'Fight & Deliver' ballot line in November. CNN reviewed hundreds of pages of documents related to the lawsuits brought by Commisso, Trooper 1 and Bennett against Cuomo, and interviewed plaintiffs' lawyers, legal experts, several of Cuomo's accusers and top Cuomo advisers. Legal experts told CNN that Cuomo's defense team has at times deployed aggressive and unconventional tactics that appear intended to slow down legal proceedings. They warned the tactics are having the effect of intimidating and harassing individuals who have spoken out against Cuomo or could do so in the future. And that costly strategy, the experts said, has been made easier because Cuomo's legal fees in these cases are being covered by New York taxpayer dollars. The defense strategy includes expansive discovery efforts seeking accusers' medical records — including gynecology, optometry and family therapy records of one plaintiff. Cuomo's legal team has also sought to probe third-party accusers' romantic histories and past alleged experiences of sexual trauma, as well as their communications with members of the media. It has also made deposition requests for third parties even if they were previously deposed as part of the New York attorney general's investigation and said they have no insights into plaintiffs' allegations. 'Roping in every possible party and subjecting them to extensive and invasive interrogatories and depositions and trying to subpoena all sorts of records from them: Does that conduct have a reasonable purpose other than to delay or prolong the resolution of the litigation?' said Heidi Li Feldman, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center who studies legal ethics. 'I am suspicious whether this has any purpose other than to delay or prolong the litigation.' Cuomo's advisers and lawyers are defiant and dismiss those critiques. They categorically deny all allegations of sexual harassment leveled against the former governor and told CNN he will not settle. They acknowledge that the ongoing lawsuits have been expensive and protracted but pin the blame on who they describe as cash-hungry ex-employees who decided to sue him, as well as what they see as a political witch hunt orchestrated by New York Attorney General Letitia James. 'The Attorney General bears direct responsibility for this entire mess,' Cuomo's top lawyer, Rita Glavin, said in a statement to CNN. Glavin described the AG's probe as a 'shoddy investigation and inaccurate report to pave the way for her own political campaign for Governor' and also dismissed a separate investigation commissioned by the New York State Assembly as an 'equally flawed tag-along report.' Those 'now-discredited political reports spawned civil lawsuits because plaintiffs hoped to use the reports to force quick seven-figure settlements,' Glavin said. CNN's examination of the lawsuits leveled against Cuomo found that his legal team's tactics have drawn a range of responses in court. At times the team was rebuked by a judge in one lawsuit for being too extensive; in other instances, it received the green light from that judge to proceed with certain discovery efforts. Meanwhile, some of Cuomo's accusers say they are desperate to finish this chapter of their lives. The scope of Cuomo's discovery efforts has made some of them fearful about speaking out in public or communicating in any way with the other accusers. Jayne Ressler, an associate professor of law at Columbia Law School who is an expert on civil procedure, expressed concern that Cuomo's legal strategy is prolonging trauma for some of Cuomo's accusers while costing him little financially. 'For him, it's Monopoly money. So it doesn't matter. It just shows how unfair the political process is where he has all this sort of play money to spend on defending himself,' Ressler said. 'It's just a double victimization, and it really just shows you that justice is not free.' A New York attorney general's office investigation, a report commissioned by the New York State Assembly and a US Justice Department probe concluded that as governor, Cuomo had sexually harassed around a dozen women. One of those women was a state trooper who had been assigned to be on Cuomo's detail, known as Trooper 1. Trooper 1 alleged that she was a victim of repeated unwanted sexual advances and touches from Cuomo, including hugs, kisses and inappropriate questions about her sex life. She filed a lawsuit in February 2022 against Cuomo, his top aide Melissa DeRosa, his longtime spokesperson Richard Azzopardi, and the New York State Police. (Cuomo said in his resignation announcement speech that he did not remember having touched the trooper's back and stomach, as she alleged. 'But, if she said I did it, I believe her,' Cuomo said, adding that when he walks by, he often touches troopers who work with him — male or female — as a way of saying: 'I see you, I appreciate you and I thank you.') More than three years later, a trial date has not been set. CNN's examination of the legal proceedings so far reveals Cuomo's defense team has made expansive discovery requests targeting not only the plaintiff but the other women who separately accused him of misconduct. Cuomo's lawyers had initially sought around 73,000 unredacted documents, including internal office memos, communications between the attorney general's office and any attorney for witnesses included in their investigation, and interviews with subjects listed in Trooper 1's complaint from the AG's investigation. The request drew a reprimand from Judge Taryn Merkl, who called it 'extraordinarily broad' and warned Cuomo's defense team that 'generalizations are not going to work in terms of establishing relevance.' Merkl denied some parts of the Cuomo defense team's discovery efforts and granted others. Cuomo's lawyers argued in a letter to the court in 2022 that because Trooper 1's amended complaint included allegations about Cuomo from the 10 other women from the AG's investigation, it 'necessitates the defense deposing those women to refute the allegations.' When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the AG's office pointed to the tens of thousands of exhibits and hundreds of hours of depositions — most of which are unredacted — related to the Cuomo investigation that are publicly available on the office's website. Some of Cuomo's efforts have at times prompted the judge in Trooper 1's case to warn the defense to tread carefully. While the judge allowed in that case for Cuomo's team to depose Bennett, Cuomo's lawyers were ordered to submit question topics to Bennett two weeks in advance. The judge further warned Cuomo's lawyers that questions about Bennett's sexual past must also be submitted in advance and: 'To the extent that Defendant Cuomo seeks to inquire into the witness's prior sexual behavior, the 'probative value [of that evidence must] substantially outweigh the danger of harm to any victim and of unfair prejudice to any party.'' As for the trooper, Cuomo's team fought to obtain text messages between the plaintiff and her former fiancé — a request that the court denied. Trooper 1 argued that the texts were 'non-public, sensitive and confidential,' and were never 'intended for the public.' Cuomo's lawyers also sought a wide range of past medical records for the trooper and initially requested seven hours to depose the plaintiff. The court allowed Trooper 1's legal team to redact communications with counsel and medical providers unrelated to any claims for Trooper 1's emotional distress claim and granted some of those records to be filed under seal, according to court documents. In court documents, Cuomo's team has rejected allegations that their discovery efforts amount to harassment, saying that all of their subpoenas 'seek relevant information' and are 'not harassing as a matter of law.' Glavin separately told CNN that those requests were relevant because the trooper communicated with her ex-fiancé about Cuomo and her allegations against him, and that Trooper 1's claims of emotional distress could have been caused by her relationship with the former fiancé. Valdi Licul, one of the attorneys representing Trooper 1, said given that multiple investigating bodies have concluded that Cuomo had created a sexually hostile work environment for numerous women, his ongoing legal defense amounts to additional harassment. 'With no viable defense, Cuomo has chosen to waste tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to weaponize the legal process to attack his victims,' Licul said. The Cuomo team's legal strategy has taken mental and financial tolls on the plaintiffs and other ex-employees who have accused him of misconduct. In December, Bennett dropped her lawsuit against Cuomo after his lawyers waged an aggressive discovery strategy that sought, among other things, records from her gynecologist, optometrist and family therapist. The discovery process wasn't completed before Bennett dropped her lawsuit. In a statement at the time, Bennett described the two-year ordeal as 'extraordinarily painful' and acknowledged that it had driven her to the darkest of places. 'I've many times believed that I'd be better off dead than endure more of his litigation abuse, which has caused extraordinary pain and expense to my family and friends,' she said. 'I desperately need to live my life. That's the choice I am making today.' Glavin said that all requests for Bennett's medical records were 'pro forma' and 'made at the direction of a psychiatric expert for the case and was the result of the massive monetary damages Ms. Bennett was claiming.' 'That is why Ms. Bennett did not oppose this routine discovery request in court — only in the press,' Glavin said. Cuomo advisers also insist that Bennett only dropped her federal lawsuit because she didn't want to be deposed under oath. Just days after Bennett dropped that lawsuit, Cuomo filed notice of his intent to sue Bennett for defamation — a remarkable turn from his resignation speech, in which he said 'I deeply, deeply apologize' to anyone he had offended. Meanwhile, earlier this year, Bennett and the state of New York agreed to a $450,000 settlement in a separate lawsuit brought by Bennett that claimed state officials didn't do enough to protect her from Cuomo's alleged inappropriate behavior. The terms said Bennett would receive $100,000 and her lawyers around $350,000 for reimbursed fees and other legal costs, according to the New York Times. Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo aide who was the first woman to publicly accuse him of sexual harassment, is not suing her former boss. Yet she remains tangled up in a web of discovery requests from Cuomo's lawyers — including multiple subpoenas issued in the Trooper 1 case, even though Boylan says she has no idea who the trooper is. Boylan said her own legal bills have so far been in the millions of dollars. She was also subpoenaed in Bennett's case. 'Being forced to hire attorneys to simply prevent the former governor of New York from abusing you legally with taxpayer money is, is a sentence that you kind of can't really believe exists in the wild, right?' she said in an interview with CNN. Attorney Marianne Wang represents Commisso, along with two others who have accused Cuomo of harassment — Virginia Limmiatis and Alyssa McGrath. Wang said she believes Cuomo's taxpayer-funded litigation tactics have been 'punitive and overbroad.' Some watchdog groups and victims' advocates are urging New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to stop covering some of Cuomo's legal fees. They have pointed to language in the relevant section of New York state law that says 'reasonable attorneys' fees and litigation expenses' would be covered by the state. 'The comptroller, under the statute, is required to provide a necessary and reasonable defense. But that doesn't mean a blank check to a defendant who seems to have no compunction of using the litigation as a bludgeon,' Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York and a former litigator, said in an interview. Lerner added: 'It's very possible to assert a vigorous defense without running up these sort of fees. … It really indicates, frankly, I think, an abuse of the system.' Jennifer Freeman, spokesperson for DiNapoli, said the comptroller is simply following the law by covering Cuomo's legal fees. 'The AG's office approved Andrew Cuomo to have his costs and some of his staff covered,' Freeman said. 'Once they approve, it is our job to pay the bills as the state's accountant.' On whether the comptroller should and could question the Cuomo team's legal conduct and whether it might be creating unnecessary and unreasonable legal fees, Freeman said any such determination must be made by the courts or the state's attorney general: 'We are not the state's lawyers,' she said. The attorney general's office declined to comment.
