Source: The Hill

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday called the sexual harassment allegations levied against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) “credible” and backed an independent investigation into his behavior.

In a statement, Pelosi said the two women who have accused Cuomo of harassment and inappropriate behavior should be taken seriously.

“The women who have come forward with serious and credible charges against Gov. Cuomo deserve to be heard and to be treated with dignity. The independent investigation must have due process and respect for everyone involved,” Pelosi said in a statement.

Cuomo has been accused by two former staffers of using language that made them uncomfortable and hinted at a desire for a sexual relationship. One of the accusers said Cuomo kissed her without consent.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/540979-pelosi-allegations-against-cuomo-credible

Source: CNN

(CNN) — Shortly after the US intelligence community published its long-awaited report on Friday afternoon on the Saudis who were responsible for the death of Jamal Khashoggi, it was taken down without explanation and replaced with another version that removed the names of three men it had initially said were complicit.

The quiet switch by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence went largely unnoticed as the outcry grew that the Biden administration was failing to punish the prince in any way, despite having just declared in no uncertain terms that MBS was responsible.

The first link to the report that was sent out by ODNI went dead. It was then replaced with a second version that removed three of the men it had just announced “participated in, ordered, or were otherwise complicit in or responsible for the death of Jamal Khashoggi.”

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to clarify why the names were originally on the list and what roles, if any, they may have had in Khashoggi’s killing.


Read more: https://wsvn.com/news/us-world/3-names-removed-from-khashoggi-intelligence-report-after-initial-publication/amp/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter_wsvn&__twitter_impression=true

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — President Biden has decided that the price of directly penalizing Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is too high, according to senior administration officials, despite a detailed American intelligence finding that he directly approved the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident and Washington Post columnist who was drugged and dismembered in October 2018.

The decision by Mr. Biden, who during the 2020 campaign called Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state with “no redeeming social value,” came after weeks of debate in which his newly formed national security team advised him that there was no way to formally bar the heir to the Saudi crown from entering the United States, or to weigh criminal charges against him, without breaching the relationship with one of America’s key Arab allies.

Officials said a consensus developed inside the White House that the price of that breach, in Saudi cooperation on counterterrorism and in confronting Iran, was simply too high.

For Mr. Biden, the decision was a telling indication of how his more cautious instincts kicked in, and it will deeply disappoint the human rights community and members of his own party who complained during the Trump administration that the United States was failing to hold the crown prince, known by his initials M.B.S., accountable for his role.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/us/politics/biden-mbs-khashoggi.html

Source: Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Amnesty International no longer considers jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny a "prisoner of conscience" due to past comments he made that qualify as advocacy of hatred, the group said.

Amnesty, however, still believes that Navalny should be freed from jail, that he has committed no crime and that he is being persecuted for his campaigning and outspoken criticism of President Vladimir Putin and his government, it said.

The 44-year-old Russian opposition politician was flown to Germany last August to recover from a near-fatal poisoning in Siberia with what many Western nations said was a nerve agent.

He was arrested on his return to Russia last month and sentenced to jail for parole violations he called trumped up. He is set to spend just over two-and-a-half years behind bars. The West has demanded his release; Russia says that is meddling.

Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/amnesty-international-revokes-kremlin-critic-133440307.html

Source: NBC News

WASHINGTON — Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Wednesday he'll vote to confirm nominee Deb Haaland to be Interior secretary, a significant boost to her prospects.

In a statement, Manchin said that "while we do not agree on every issue, she reaffirmed her strong commitment to bipartisanship, addressing the diverse needs of our country and maintaining our nation’s energy independence."

Manchin's swing vote is closely watched in contentious nomination battles, particularly after he came out against President Joe Biden's budget chief nominee Neera Tanden on Friday, a move that threw her prospects into doubt.

The centrist senator touted Haaland's bipartisan credentials.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/manchin-will-support-deb-haaland-interior-secretary-boosting-her-chances-n1258777

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Manchin is turning out to be quite an effective Majority Leader.

Source: The Hill

Interior Secretary nominee Deb Haaland said on Wednesday that President Biden’s pause on new oil and gas leasing is a temporary measure and won't be a "permanent thing."

“This pause...it’s just that, it’s a pause, it’s not going to be a permanent thing where we’re saying we’re restricting all these lands from something,” Haaland said in response to a question on the moratorium from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).

The White House last month put a temporary pause without a set end date on granting new leases for publicly owned lands and waters for oil and gas drilling.

The Interior Department has continued to issue new permits on public lands that are already leased, though it instituted a temporary elevated review process, and it has also not stopped current drilling activity.

Read more: https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/540305-haaland-on-drilling-lease-moratorium-its-not-going-to-be-a

Source: Washington Post

Two Senate committees on Wednesday delayed votes on President Biden’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget, as the White House continued to struggle to find the votes to secure her passage through the Senate.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and the Senate Budget Committee abruptly postponed votes on Neera Tanden scheduled for Wednesday.

Tanden’s nomination has appeared increasingly in jeopardy over the past week as Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and a number of moderate Republican senators announced that they would not vote for her, probably dooming her selection in an evenly divided Senate.

“Members need more time to consider the nomination, so we’re continuing to work with them to find the best path forward,” said an aide to the Homeland Security Committee. Of particular concern on that panel is Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who has not indicated how she would vote on Tanden’s nomination.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2021/02/24/neera-tanden-omb/

Source: Newsweek

Democratic New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced on Friday that she was joining several other Democrats in the state in calling for a full investigation into Governor Andrew Cuomo's handling of nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement sent to Newsweek, Ocasio-Cortez wrote, "I support our state's return to co-equal governance and stand with our local officials calling for a full investigation of the Cuomo administration's handling of nursing homes during COVID-19."

"Thousands of vulnerable New Yorkers lost their lives in nursing homes throughout the pandemic," the statement continued. "Their loved ones and the public deserve answers and transparency from their elected leadership, and the Secretary to the Governor's remarks warrant a full investigation."

In addition to Ocasio-Cortez, several other New York lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have also called for an investigation into Cuomo's handling of nursing homes during the pandemic.

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-wants-cuomo-administration-investigated-over-nursing-home-deaths-1570636

Source: CNN

(CNN)New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been pleading with lawmakers for support and even threatening political retribution against Democrats who have criticized him in an aggressive effort to contain political fallout from revelations that his administration had concealed the full extent of nursing home-related deaths during the Covid pandemic.

Describing an alleged exchange with the governor that has not been previously reported, Democratic Assemblyman Ron Kim told CNN that he received a call on his cell phone from the governor last week as he was bathing his children at home.

"Gov. Cuomo called me directly on Thursday to threaten my career if I did not cover up for Melissa [DeRosa] and what she said. He tried to pressure me to issue a statement, and it was a very traumatizing experience," Kim said. Cuomo proceeded to tell the assemblyman that "we're in this business together and we don't cross certain lines and he said I hadn't seen his wrath and that he can destroy me," according to Kim.

Cuomo's adviser denied that the governor threatened to destroy Kim.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/17/politics/cuomo-ron-kim-nursing-home/index.html

Source: CNN

(CNN)White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo, who threatened a reporter who asked about his relationship with another reporter, has resigned said his boss, White House press secretary Jen Psaki, Saturday night.

"We accepted the resignation of TJ Ducklo after a discussion with him this evening. This conversation occurred with the support of the White House Chief of Staff," Psaki said in a statement.

Ducklo released a statement on Twitter saying, in part, "I know this was terrible. I know I can't take it back. But I also know I can learn from it and do better."

Ducklo was suspended Friday for one week without pay after Vanity Fair story published earlier that day a reporter from Politico was working on an article about his romantic relationship with a reporter from another news outlet.

Read more: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/02/13/media/tj-ducklo-resigns/index.html