Readers sound off on Tyre Nichols' killers, Biden's cancer and reversing rules
No! It was not to be another safe arrival home the night of Jan. 7, 2023, the night of Nichols' cruel, inhuman and unforgivable murder. I cried for him and cried for all who knew and loved him, but at the very least, I had the assurance that it was all on camera, clear and factually visible above their cruel hands, fists, kicks and taunts.
Everything despite his cries, his begging, even after he tried to run from these horrible, inhumane men — no, creatures — accusing him of absolutely nothing that warranted the most merciless and heartless treatment. These creatures, I'm sure, have their own families and friends who would later watch them become heartless, mocking, inhumane animals.
It was all on camera. It was all right there. No one could lie about it or make them less guilty or horrendous than what they were that horrible night. I had to take Nichols' picture down. It hurts too much. But I will never forget his smiling, sweet, innocent, promising face. Carmen H. Mason
Brooklyn: After seeing the violent tape of Diddy beating up Cassandra Ventura, I hope it's a quick guilty verdict. I can not see how anyone in their right mind needs any more facts. I hope Cassandra can put this violence she suffered past her and live happily with her family. Mariann Tepedino
Manhattan: Re 'Ill-fated Mexican ship was headed to Iceland on an around-the-world tour' (May 19): This is what the Daily News printed about the Mexican tall ship: 'Its main mast is 160 feet high; the Brooklyn Bridge is only 127 feet above the water.' Mathematics says the ship couldn't fit. Leonard Marshall
Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.: Seventeen states, including New York, are suing President Trump for pulling the plug on federally approved offshore wind projects. These wind farms, which contribute to American energy independence, should be getting Republican support for using free, American energy sources and providing employment and economic investment offshore and onshore in wind port logistics and manufacturing. Thank you, Gov. Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James and NYSERDA chief Doreen Harris for having New York's best interests at the forefront and fighting Trump's irrational wind ban. Catherine Campbell
Glen Oaks: The Daily News cites 144 recent deaths in Kentucky due to tornadoes, other storms and floods ('Death toll climbs to 28 from mid-South storms,' May 19). 'Oh, that's Kentucky!' we might answer, putting our climate breakdown out of reach and mind. Hey, that's America. That's our home. Moreover, that's a nearby state. C'mon, Albany, we've got about a week before it will be too late to pass our transformative NY HEAT Act and for Hochul to unstop our cap-and-invest program. Let's get both going and help turn the corner on climate breakdown! Kanwaldeep K. Sekhon
Delray Beach, Fla.: It's very sad to hear that ex-President Joe Biden has developed prostate cancer and that it is in a very aggressive stage. He did get checked every year at Walter Reed Medical Center, so why was this not detected sooner? Of course, he was given a clean bill of health, just like he was cognizant of everything. That was another lie. As we can now see, he was never in good health and was lying to the American people. Manny Agostini
Stratford, Conn.: So, crooked Joe has prostate cancer? With the best doctors in the country at his disposal? Maybe he should have spent more time in the doctor's office than at his beach resort in Delaware, or stopped lying about the millions of illegal immigrants he let into the country. I bet he doesn't care that I have prostate cancer, so why should I care if he has it? Peter Sulzicki
Cincinnati: Re 'The Dems are still hiding from Biden cover-up' (column, May 15): As his presidency waned, Biden transformed into a ventriloquist's dummy. As he crept into senility, his family and administration buddies became the virtual president, programming him as one would a robot. Several ventriloquists, one dummy. We survived because, as Otto von Bismarck noted, 'There is a special providence for fools, drunkards and the United States of America.' Unless they come clean about his deterioration in office, no Democratic presidential hopeful will garner enough credibility to compete in the 2028 presidential sweepstakes. Paul Bloustein
Brooklyn: Does everyone remember when AOC famously said that entering the country illegally is not illegal? That's all I have to say. Rocco Conte
Bronx: I read with horror of the woman in Georgia who is brain-dead and on life support and is 21 weeks pregnant. Her family is not allowed to take her off life support because the abortion ban is only concerned for the fetus' existence, not the mother's. In the government's eyes, the fetus must be delivered when viable. Now the woman must be kept on life support so she can deliver the baby by being cut open by Cesarean section (major surgery) to deliver the baby, who already has water on the brain. This will be done all without the family's right to have decision-making power about their daughter's life and what medical procedure they want for her. To all women in America who have daughters who potentially will have children: Be afraid, be very afraid. Lydia Milnar
Kew Gardens: In December 2023, Hamas proposed the release of all hostages in exchange for a total ceasefire and the withdrawal of IDF forces from Gaza. This proposal was widely supported by UN membership, but the U.S. deferred to Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the proposal, stating that Israel would never agree to a total ceasefire until all their military objectives were attained, including the elimination of Hamas to the last man. So, the continuation of this war goes far beyond getting the hostages released. What is the real objective? This war now has the smell of imperialistic territory annexation. Normally in the Middle East, this type of military action involves obtaining oil and energy resources. Are there energy resources in the Palestinian territories? If so, none of our media is reporting that wealth is a contributing factor in the continuation of this conflict. Glenn Hayes
Dover, Del.: To Voicer Wendy Jackson: Apparently, you subscribe to the British/Zionist version of history. Just because the Zionist authors claim that no Palestinians were present in the area, Palestinians had several cities, resorts, an entire monetary system and universities prior to the arrival of Europeans seeking more land to colonize after World War II. Take a moment to explore the coins already minted in Palestine from the early 1900s, prior to the forced expulsions. Chalky White
Valley Stream, L.I.: Voicer Glenn Bischoff paints a valid picture when describing Pete Rose betting on baseball. In closing, Bischoff writes, '… the rules of law do not matter.' In America, we are proving that laws do not matter. We elected a convicted felon to our highest office. This person is continually turning the legal levers of the laws in our country, defying the courts. The corruption in his administration is never-ending, with no accountability for anyone in his cabinet. Getting back to Rose, I saw a sports talk program with Johnny Bench on YouTube. The host asked Johnny if he thought Rose should be elected to the Hall of Fame. Johnny's quote: 'Well, if you want to have Mr. Rose in the Hall of Fame, just tell your kids that there are no rules anymore.' That was several years ago. Unfortunately, in today's politics, sports and everyday life, it rings true. Vince Sgroi
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NBC News
30 minutes ago
- NBC News
Former Jan. 6 prosecutor and ex-DOJ employees sue Trump administration over firings
WASHINGTON — It was late afternoon on the last Friday in June, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mike Gordon was in his office in Tampa, Florida, interviewing a victim for an upcoming trial via Zoom. Alongside a special agent, Gordon was preparing the victim to be a witness in a Justice Department case against a lawyer who the Justice Department alleged had been scamming clients. There was a knock at the door, Gordon later told NBC News, and he didn't answer; at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida, there was a culture of not just popping in when the door is closed. But the door popped open, and there stood the office manager, ashen-faced. The office manager is in charge of security, and Gordon thought for a moment that something might have happened to his family. Gordon muted the Zoom call, and the office manager handed him a piece of paper. It was a one-page letter signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. He'd been terminated from federal service. "No explanation. No advance warning. No description of what the cause was," Gordon said in an interview. "Now, I knew why. I knew it had to be my Jan. 6 work." Gordon had been senior trial counsel in the Capitol Siege Section of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, which prosecuted alleged rioters involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. His title reflected some of the high-profile cases he'd taken on during the Jan. 6 investigation and the role he played in helping other federal prosecutors. At the time of his firing, Gordon had long been working on other cases back home in Florida. He had recently been assigned to co-lead a case against two people accused of stealing more than $100 million from a medical trust for people with disabilities, as well as injured workers and retirees. Just two days before he was fired, he'd received an "outstanding" rating on his performance review. Now, along with two other recently fired Justice Department employees, Gordon is pushing back, suing the Trump administration late Thursday over their dismissals. The suit argues that the normal procedures federal employees are expected to go through to address their grievances — the Merit Systems Protection Board — are fundamentally broken because of the Trump administration's actions. MSPB is a quasi-judicial body that is meant to settle disputes between employees and their agencies, but the suit argues it "cannot function as intended" because of President Donald Trump's firing of MSPB member Cathy Harris. A federal court issued a permanent injunction reinstating Harris, but the Supreme Court stayed the injunction, allowing Harris' removal. Now the MSPB lacks a quorum to vote on any petitions for review, while MSPB administrative judges are "overwhelmed" because of the government's termination of thousands of federal employees. Gordon filed the lawsuit alongside Patricia Hartman, who was a top spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, and Joseph Tirrell, who was director of the Departmental Ethics Office, before the Trump administration dismissed them this year. Tirrell, an FBI and Navy veteran, had 19 years of federal civil service, along with six years of military service, when he was fired. Hartman, who had worked for various Justice Department components for almost two decades, oversaw news releases and media responses related to the Jan. 6 prosecutions, which was the largest investigation in FBI history, involving more than 1,500 defendants. 'I was never given an explanation for my termination," Hartman told NBC News. "Based on my performance reviews, which have always been outstanding, I have to believe that something else was driving this. The bottom line is this, in my mind, amounts to psychological terrorism. You are removing people who were good or excellent at their jobs with no explanation.' The lawyers on the lawsuit are Abbe Lowell, Norm Eisen, Heidi Burakiewicz and Mark Zaid, a whistleblower attorney who has been targeted by the Trump administration, which stripped his security clearance after Trump named him in an executive order. Zaid has since sued. The new administration has fired roughly 200 Justice Department employees, according to Justice Connection, an organization that was set up to support Justice Department employees. "The way in which these employees have been terminated seems like a pretty clear violation of the Civil Service Protection Act and general constitutional due process protections, and it's been destabilizing for the workforce, because nobody knows when they're going to be next," said Stacy Young, a former Justice Department employee. 'I hear from employees all the time who tell me they wake up in the morning terrified that today will be their day. It feels to a lot of them like psychological warfare.' Gordon was fired the same day two other Jan. 6 prosecutors were fired last month. He'd started out as a state prosecutor in New York City and began his career as a federal prosecutor in January 2017, working in the violent crimes and narcotics section. When he saw what happened on Jan. 6 and the call go out within the Justice Department for assistance prosecuting those involved, he signed up, he told NBC News. Jason Manning, a former federal prosecutor who worked on Jan. 6 cases, as well, said Gordon executed back-to-back trials "flawlessly" and played a critical role in supporting others in the unit. "On a large team of excellent and hard-working people, Mike really stood out as a leader on the team, as somebody who prosecuted some of the most notorious defendants and some of the most highly watched and high-pressure and critical cases," Manning said. Among them was the case against Ray Epps, who was the target of false conspiracy theories claiming he was a federal government plant, before he was eventually charged by federal prosecutors, who sought to send him to prison for six months. A judge ultimately sentenced Epps to probation, citing the impact the conspiracy theories had on his life. After Trump became the Republican presidential nominee last year, federal prosecutors working the Jan. 6 cases knew there was a risk to their work, and they made dark jokes about what could happen to them if Trump returned to office, multiple sources close to the Justice Department have told NBC News. Now, those fears have become a reality. When he returned to office, Trump quickly pardoned Jan. 6 defendants en masse, and probationary federal prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases were fired, as were people who worked on special counsel Jack Smith's investigation of Trump. Current FBI employees who worked on the Smith and Jan. 6 probes still wonder what could happen to them down the road after the Justice Department demanded a list of employees who worked on those investigations. "The people who volunteered for that detail are some of the best, smartest, most talented lawyers in the country," Gordon said, referring to Jan. 6 prosecutors. "It's not that somehow the administration should just pat itself on the back and say, 'Great, like, these are all deep state Democrats that we're driving out.' That's not what's happening. They are either firing or pushing out some of the most talented people they have."
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Karl Rove on Trump, Epstein saga: ‘There's hell to pay'
Republican strategist Karl Rove said in a new opinion piece for The Wall Street Journal, 'there's hell to pay' surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the saga around the Epstein files. 'Attorney General Pam Bondi, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino—all members in good standing of MAGA world—said there was no client list of powerful figures in politics, finance and media,' Rove wrote in his Wednesday piece. 'They also confirmed Epstein wasn't killed by a Deep State hit squad at midnight in a federal prison but committed suicide. Many in MAGA reacted with incredulity and anger at Mr. Trump, the attorney general and the FBI leadership. There's hell to pay when those who hyped the conspiracy have closed the books on the case,' he added. Right-wing influencers who had long pushed conspiracy theories about Epstein turned their fury toward the Trump administration, especially Attorney General Pam Bondi, due to a recent Justice Department memo that dispelled many of the theories. Last week, President Trump admonished and sought to distance himself from backers who have pushed for additional information about documents related to Epstein. In a Truth Social post, the president dismissed the uproar due to the Epstein files as a 'scam' pushed by Democrats and suggested he no longer welcomed his supporters who have called for extra transparency around the documents. 'Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bulls‑‑‑,' hook, line, and sinker,' Trump said in his post. 'They haven't learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.'
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Former Congressman George Santos delivers 'glamorous' farewell before going to prison: 'The curtain falls'
Former Rep. George Santos posted a theatrical farewell on social media Thursday night, just hours before he was to begin serving a federal prison sentence for fraud and identity theft. "Well, darlings… The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed," Santos wrote on X. "From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it's been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried… most days. To my supporters: You made this wild political cabaret worth it. To my critics: Thanks for the free press." The former New York congressman is expected to report to federal custody Friday to begin serving an 87-month sentence, just over seven years, after pleading guilty in 2024 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Santos was assessed the maximum sentence in April by U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert. He was also ordered to pay nearly $374,000 in restitution and forfeit more than $205,000 in fraud proceeds. His guilty plea followed a sweeping investigation into campaign finance fraud, donor identity theft and false COVID-era unemployment claims. "This prosecution speaks to the truth that my office is committed to aggressively rooting out public corruption," said U.S. Attorney John J. Durham, who called the sentence "judgment day" for Santos and justice for his victims. Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly said Santos "traded in his integrity for designer clothes and a luxury lifestyle." Prosecutors shared how Santos and his campaign treasurer, Nancy Marks, doctored donor reports to qualify for national Republican party funding. They fabricated contributions from Santos' family and falsely reported a $500,000 loan from Santos, though he had under $8,000 in his accounts. He also stole credit card information from donors, including "victims he knew were elderly persons suffering from cognitive impairment or decline" and made unauthorized charges to fund both campaign and personal expenses, according to the DOJ. Santos also used a fake political fundraising company to solicit tens of thousands of dollars which he spent on "designer clothing." During the pandemic, Santos fraudulently claimed over $24,000 in unemployment benefits while employed at an investment firm. He also submitted false congressional financial disclosures to the House. Santos was elected in 2022 after flipping New York's 3rd District for the GOP. His résumé was easily debunked. He falsely claimed academic degrees, Wall Street jobs and family ties to the Holocaust and 9/11. He was expelled from Congress in December 2023 after a scathing ethics report, becoming just the sixth member ever removed from the People's House. Santos has remained publicly active after his sentencing, selling video messages on Cameo and making social media posts. His tweet concluded, "I may be leaving the stage (for now), but trust me legends never truly exit." Unless pardoned, Santos is expected to remain incarcerated until at least early 2032. He has reportedly appealed to President Donald Trump for clemency. The White House and Santos did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
