
Ex-NYPD commissioner sues NYC mayor, alleging he ran police department as a 'criminal enterprise'
In a lawsuit filed in federal court, the ex-commissioner, Thomas Donlon, accused Adams and his inner circle of operating the nation's largest police department as a 'criminal enterprise."
Their alleged corruption triggered a 'massive, unlawful transfer of public wealth,' the suit states, through unearned salary increases, overtime payments, pension enhancement and other benefits.
At times, top officials forged internal documents to promote politically connected officers or those whose silence they were seeking, according to the lawsuit.
With Adams' approval, his cadre of hand-picked police leaders also sought to obstruct internal investigations, while targeting dissenters with leaks through the press, the suit alleges.
Inquiries to the New York City Police Department and City Hall were not immediately returned.
'This lawsuit is not a personal grievance,' Donlon said in a statement. 'It is a statement against a corrupt system that betrays the public, silences truth, and punishes integrity.'
Donlon, a career FBI official who had not previously worked in the NYPD, was brought in as interim commissioner last September to stabilize a department shaken by federal investigations.
His predecessor, Edward Caban, stepped down after federal authorities seized his electronic devices as part of an investigation that also involved his brother, a former police officer, along with several other high-ranking police officials. Caban has denied wrongdoing and not been criminally charged.
Donlon had spent decades working on terrorism cases, including the investigation into the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and was a top counterterrorism official for the FBI's New York office. He also led New York state's Office of Homeland Security before going into the private sector security industry.
But about a week into his tenure, federal authorities searched Donlon's homes and seized decades old materials that he said at the time were unrelated to his work with the NYPD.
Donlon lasted about two months on the job before current police Commissioner Jessica Tisch took over, pledging to restore trust to the department.
But as he seeks reelection, Adams faces renewed scrutiny over his management of the police force.
Last week, four other former high-ranking New York City police officials filed separate lawsuits against Adams and his top deputies, alleging a culture of rampant corruption and bribes that preceded Donlon's appointment.
In response to that suit, a spokesperson for Adams said the administration 'holds all city employees — including leadership at the NYPD — to the highest standards.'
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
The US cities left behind as Trump ends key police accountability reforms
US communities that have contended with police violence are losing a major accountability measure to curb abuse. In late May, the Trump administration's Department of Justice announced a reversal in investigations and consent decrees – agreements between federal officials to hold law enforcement agencies accountable to reform – for several major police departments. The move came years after the Biden administration launched investigations into some law enforcement agencies, specifically as racial justice protests kicked off in the summer of 2020. Louisville metro police department (LMPD) is one department that saw its justice department investigation ended, despite its high-profile police controversies. In March 2020, LMPD officers shot and killed Breonna Taylor, a 27-year-old emergency room technician, as she slept in bed with her boyfriend. Police forcibly entered Taylor's home using a 'no-knock' warrant, firing 32 bullets into Taylor's home. Taylor's death sparked international outcry as the Black Lives Matter protests spread across the world. Since 2012, LMPD has also come under scrutiny for its Violent Incident Prevention, Enforcement and Response Unit. Officers, who often wear plainclothes, were found to routinely violate the civil rights of Black and brown residents; the unit was dissolved in 2015. Following Taylor's death, the justice department launched an investigation into LMPD, determining in 2023 that it had '[engaged] in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law', including excessive force, unlawful searches and detentions, discriminating against Black people in their enforcement. Louisville officials pledged to carry out reforms in response to the justice department's findings. A consent decree that was negotiated was still awaiting approval from a judge. But on 21 May, the Trump administration rolled back previous agreements and investigations to curb police abuse in Louisville and nearly two dozen other cities in the US. 'Today, we are ending the Biden Civil Rights Division's failed experiment of handcuffing local leaders and police departments with factually unjustified consent decrees,' said Harmeet K Dhillon, the head of the justice department's civil rights division, in an announcement. For community activists in affected cities, the justice department's rollback on police reform doesn't entirely come as a shock. Donald Trump established himself as a 'law and order' candidate during the 2024 presidential election and his administration previously signaled that they would end police reform progress in April. Still, the justice department's rollback of reforms is a significant breakdown in progress towards ending police abuses. 'It's very disappointing that the Trump administration is having his DOJ abdicate their statutory authority to investigate police departments and other municipalities under pattern and practice allegations and to make sure that everyone's civil rights are being enforced,' said Kungu Njuguna, a policy strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky. The justice department also announced that it would drop civil rights investigations looking into the conduct of several embattled law enforcement agencies including those in Phoenix, Arizona; Trenton, New Jersey; and Mount Vernon, New York. The agency has also ended a consent decree in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Consent decrees have long been used as a federal intervention into police departments: their implementation began with the passage of the 1994 crime bill, which included a small number of accountability measures for law enforcement. Those reforms were sparked by Los Angeles police officers beating Rodney King in 1991 and protests that came after. The decrees historically have varied in effectiveness. While legally binding, different administrations have weakened them based on their own partisan affiliation. But for community members, consent decrees and broader investigations into misconduct can represent a positive change forward. In Trenton, the justice department's oversight offered a 'glimmer' for residents, said Austin Edward, president of the NAACP Trenton chapter. 'For the first time, having the federal government actually come in and say: 'Something is going wrong here in Trenton,' and finally listening to what the people have been saying for a long time? That's where that hope lies,' he said. 'A lot of people are very disappointed with the fact that we don't have any other recourse at the moment.' Despite the changes in federal oversight, some cities have already committed to passing reform. The Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg and the city's police chief Paul Humphrey promised to carry out the recommended changes, even without the consent decree. Trenton officials also promised to continue enacting reforms. (In 2024, a justice department investigation found that the Trenton police department engaged in a pattern of misconduct against city residents after police shot and paralyzed an unarmed Black man during a traffic stop.) 'We are moving ahead rapidly to continue implementing police reform that ensures constitutional policing while providing transparency and accountability to the public,' said Greenberg in a presser about the DOJ changes. 'I made a promise to our community, and we are keeping that promise.' Njuguna said that the ACLU is still examining what exact reforms Louisville officials are planning to implement and how much they differ from the justice department's former recommendations. But critics have said it is unclear if city officials can be trusted to hold themselves accountable and implement the entirety of the justice department's previous recommendations. Greenberg himself publicly contested the justice department's findings on the LMPD in January 2025, later clarifying that he would accept the report. 'We're kind of in a low to zero environment of trust with the community and LMPD,' said Njuguna. 'Without that independent oversight from the federal government, I think it's hard for some people to believe that LMPD is capable of policing its own.' In the meantime, activists and city officials have launched campaigns to bring attention to step backs in police reform. The People's Consent Decree, a list of demands for LMPD originally launched in 2024, has been gaining additional attention as the justice department ends their finding. The decree, which outlines demands for police accountability, was a collaborative effort between Louisville advocacy groups with the goal of having the city council adopt the measure. Involved groups, said Njuguna, are coming together to help educate the public on what a consent decree is and what rollbacks on progress are in effect. They hope to eventually see the plan implemented at a citywide level.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Kamala Harris' former advisor left flustered after being asked simple question about economy
A former senior adviser to Kamala Harris was left visibly flustered during a live television segment after he failed to accurately answer a basic question about the current U.S. inflation rate. During a Friday appearance on Fox News ' America Reports, anchor Sandra Smith pressed Mike Nellis, once a Senior Advisor to former Vice President Harris, on the latest economic data, asking, 'Do you know what the inflation rate is?' 'Yeah, it's like about three or four percent,' Nellis responded. But Smith quickly fired back, correcting him. 'No. It's below three. And it's been a long time since it's gotten there. I mean, you're looking at 2.5 percent inflation now.' According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.7 percent year-over-year in June. While slightly above Smith's figure, the inflation rate has remained below 3 percent for several consecutive months, reflecting a significant cooldown from its 9.1 percent peak in June 2022 - the highest in four decades, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite the data, Nellis insisted that inflation continues to rise. 'Inflation is still going up,' he said. 'And it's rising, according to the latest stats.' 'That's not the case,' Smith countered. 'Inflation has come down. Inflation by nature is growth in prices, but the growth has slowed.' Earlier in the segment, Nellis blamed Republicans and President Donald Trump for ongoing economic concerns. 'Right now the president of the United States is Donald Trump. Republicans are in control of Congress,' Nellis said. 'They're currently in recess rather than doing anything about inflation.' He went on to claim that beef and alcohol prices hit record highs over the July 4 weekend and criticized Trump's promises to reduce prices immediately after taking office. 'Donald Trump promised to make grocery prices go down on day one,' Nellis said. 'We're six months in and everything's more expensive.' Smith pushed back, noting that 'prices have definitely come down,' but that 'they can go down more.' Meanwhile, some economic indicators suggest relief for American consumers, according to AAA, average gas prices hit a four-year low in June. The tense exchange came just days after the Democratic Party had its own messaging blunder when its official X account posted a graphic blaming inflation from 2021 to 2024 on 'Trump's America' - even though Joe Biden and Harris were in charge the whole time. The post later deleted. The White House later shared the same graphic again, this time fixing the mistake and crediting the Biden administration. That slip-up highlights the tough spot Democrats are in as they face growing criticism over the party's handling of the economy. A new Wall Street Journal poll this week showed that 63 percent of voters view the Democratic Party unfavorably - the worst rating they've seen in 35 years. Just 33 percent said they view the party favorably, and only 8 percent said they had a 'very favorable' view, according to the poll. In contrast, Republicans, while also viewed more unfavorably than favorably, had stronger numbers - sitting at just 19 percent. President Trump's job approval stands at 46 percent, higher than the 40 percent approval rating he received at the same point in his first term, according to the WSJ. When asked which party they trusted more on major issues such as inflation, tariffs, and immigration, voters consistently favored Republicans. 'The Democratic brand is so bad that they don't have the credibility to be a critic of Trump or the Republican Party,' Democratic pollster John Anzalone, who conducted the WSJ poll with Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio, said. 'Until they reconnect with real voters and working people on who they're for and what their economic message is, they're going to have problems.' Republicans currently hold a financial edge as well, with campaign filings showing the Republican National Committee has over $80 million on hand, compared to $15 million held by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the WSJ reported.


Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
David Letterman unleashes fury at CBS for canceling his successor Stephen Colbert
David Letterman has backed his successor Stephen Colbert and suggested CBS canceled The Late Show because he was 'always shooting his mouth off' about Donald Trump. The 78-year-old late-night legend created The Late Show in 1993 after NBC denied him the chance to succeed Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. Colbert took over for Letterman in 2015 and took the show in a decidedly more political direction but despite leading in the ratings, a shrinking late-night landscape led CBS to claim losses in the tens of millions of dollars. In his first comment on the show's cancellation, Letterman noted that his show was more about political satire than his version of The Late Show but was still complimentary, calling the decision by CBS 'pure cowardice.' 'I think one day, if not today, the people at CBS who have manipulated and handled this, they're going to be embarrassed, because this is gutless,' he told former Late Show producers Barbara Gaines and Mary Barclay. Letterman then said that he believed CBS was acting on behalf of Skydance CEO and incoming Paramount CEO David Ellison to make their lives easier after they acquire Paramount, taking away a constant critic of Trump. 'Hey boys, here's what we're gonna do: not only are we gonna get rid of that guy, we're gonna get rid of the entire franchise so you don't have to worry about another guy. It's gone,' Letterman said. The long-time talk show host noted CBS's $16million settlement with the Trump administration over a deceptively edited interview with election rival Kamala Harris, which Colbert had previously mocked as a 'big fat bribe.' He also referred to Ellison as a 'bottom feeder,' saying he should've bought a Dairy Queen instead of a television network. 'Stay out of this business.' He also tore into the accusations that the show lost so much money, with both Gaines and Barclay saying that they had cut budgets to help the network several times when they were at CBS. 'You're telling me losing this kind of money happened yesterday? I bet they were losing this kind of money a month ago, six weeks ago, or they have never been losing money,' he said. Letterman noted that despite the show losing tons of money, they're going to let him stay on the air for the next ten months continuing to lose it. 'That's another huge chunk of money they're gonna lose according to them. I don't think it was money, I think it was all to make sure the Ellisons were solid spending Dad's money,' he said, noting Ellison's father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison. He said of the treatment of Colbert: 'They did not handle Stephen Colbert, the face of that network, in the way he deserves to have been handled.' Letterman echoed Colbert's own joking words from earlier this week when the former Comedy Central comic called himself 'a martyr.' 'For Stephen, I love this: he's a martyr, good for him. If you listen carefully, you can hear them unfolding chairs at the Hall of Fame for his induction,' he joked. Ultimately, he said he envies the position Colbert is now in with his liberal viewers. 'I only wish this could've happened to me. This would've been so great for me. Now we've all gotta kiss Stephen Colbert's ring now,' he quipped. The comedian's decade-long run as the host of CBS's late night flagship will end next May, with network insiders suggesting the top-rated show was canceled because it was losing anywhere from $40 to $100million per year. Trump posted a celebration on Truth Social when the news was announced, saying 'I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings.' Colbert, who briefly addressed the move the day of its announcement, devoted much of his Monday show to the controversy, eventually uniting with almost every other liberal late-night talk show host in a show of support, as well as Adam Sandler and even Lin-Manuel Miranda. The 61-year-old comic opened after a standing ovation and a lengthy applause from the New York City crowd by saying ' cancel culture has gone too far' and then joked now that the show is ending, he can say whatever he feels. Colbert said sarcastically of Paramount: 'They made one mistake, they left me alive! For the next ten months, the gloves are off!' The Late Show host then referenced Trump's comments, turning to an 'Eloquence Cam' and said: 'How dare you, sir? Would an untalented man be able to compose the following satirical witticism? Go f*** yourself.' He then referenced Trump stating in the same Truth Social post: 'I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next.' Colbert replied: 'Nope, no, no. Absolutely not. Kimmel, I am the martyr. There's only room for one on this cross. And the view is fantastic from up here. I can see your house!' He also said that cancellation meant he could finally admit what he felt about the president. In contrast to his often over-the-top anti-Trump monologues, he dryly, quietly said: 'I don't care for him. Doesn't seem to have the skill set to be president. Just not a good fit, that's all.' He addressed his bosses at CBS - who he said 'have always been great partners' - before talking about Paramount's decision to cancel the show which he took over from David Letterman in 2015. 'How could it be a purely financial decision if The Late Show's is number one in ratings? A lot of folks are asking that question, mainly my staff's parents and spouses.' 'I could see us losing $24 million but where would Paramount have possibly spent the other $16 million, oh...' he quipped, naming the amount the company settled with Trump for over his 60 Minutes lawsuit. He went back to bashing Trump and the recent news accusing him of writing a 'bawdy' letter to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. 'I'll have more to say about all this after the commercial break. The only other story is a small one... the president is buddies with a pedophile.' Puck journalist Matthew Belloni revealed Colbert's 'lack of profitability ' Friday, hours after CNN first broke the news that the show was canceled because it was in the red. Belloni outlined how The Late Show - whose cancellation was announced last Thursday - costs $100m a year to produce, with Colbert, 61, getting paid between $15 million and $20 million a year to host. Colbert beats ABC and NBC rivals Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon in the ratings, but that still wasn't enough to save him. Late night shows have slumped in profitability in recent years as viewers shun the format in favor of streaming services or watching content on their phones. Advertiser revenue has slumped sharply even in the last three years, Puck reported, making it harder to pull Colbert's show out of the red. Colbert was reported to be 'not angry, actually' about his cancellation and was chatting with his staff in a 'matter-of-fact' way before Thursday's show, Puck reported. Colbert, who will broadcast his final show in May 2026, was first informed his show was on the chopping block around July 4, it is claimed. Paramount Co-CEO George Cheeks made the decision, Puck reported. He then went on vacation, giving bosses at CBS time to plot behind his back, CNN reported. He moved to share it as quickly as possible so that his staff would not learn of their impending unemployment via leaks to the press. All three major late night hosts - Colbert, Kimmel and Fallon - have become notorious for their regular rants about President Trump, which many viewers have complained are boring and off-putting. But Belloni said he didn't believe the famously anti-MAGA Colbert was axed to appease Donald Trump, who recently won a $15 million payout from CBS after suing them over a 60 Minutes interview with Harris he said was deceptively edited. The axing of Colbert has delighted Trump, who posted about it on his TruthSocial network earlier today. Colbert's ouster could also make it easier for CBS parent company Paramount's efforts to merge with media company Skydance in a deal that must be approved by Trump's Federal Communications Commission. The Late Show launched in 1993 under David Letterman to compete with longtime late night juggernaut The Tonight Show. Colbert took over from Letterman in 2015 after his retirement. More than three decades later, CBS's entry into the late night sphere sits at the top, with second-best Jimmy Kimmel Live! raking in an average of 1.772 million viewers. Colbert, by comparison, collects an average of 2.417 million. Colbert - who once played a conservative character on Comedy Central's satirical late night program The Colbert Report - often aired jokes at the conservative's expense. Trump celebrated the news of the show's cancellation as a result. 'I absolutely love that Colbert got fired. His talent was even less than his ratings,' he wrote in a Friday Truth Social post. 'I hear Jimmy Kimmel is next. Has even less talent than Colbert,' he added, before talking up right-wing Fox News star Greg Gutfeld. '[He's] better than all of them combined, including the Moron on NBC who ruined the once great Tonight Show,' Trump added, referring to Jimmy Fallon.