Latest news with #Stebbins
New York Post
12-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Tish James' pro-consumer push could spark 'legal shakedowns' and boost greedy lawyers, businesses say
New York business groups are blasting Attorney General Tish James for a pro-consumer push they fear would be a legislative misfire – boosting greedy lawyers and unleashing 'legal shakedowns.' James' FAIR Business Practices Act looks to tighten up consumer protections to crack down on shady crimes like deed theft, junk fees and hard-to-cancel subscriptions but critics said it will open up small businesses to frivolous lawsuits and legal threats. 'The so-called FAIR Act would be anything but fair to New York's business community, especially Main Street businesses,' said Tom Stebbins, executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance of NY. Advertisement 3 Attorney General Letitia James makes an announcement about new legislation to protect consumers and small businesses at AG office in New York on March 13, 2025. Lev Radin/ZUMA Press Wire / 'It strips away long standing legal safeguards and due process protections – like ensuring that claims are consumer-oriented or that plaintiffs actually have standing to sue – and replaces them with a system that invites abuse,' Stebbins added. 'The bill would specifically authorize profit-motivated law firms to send letters demanding pre-suit settlements for damages and fees,' Stebbins said. 'That's a recipe for a cottage industry of legal shakedowns, where small businesses are targeted not for wrongdoing, but because they lack the resources to fight back.' Advertisement The act targets companies engaged in artificial intelligence-based schemes, online phishing scams and data breaches. It also takes aim at student loan services that steer borrowers into more expensive repayment plans, unscrupulous car dealers, shady nursing homes that sue relatives of deceased residents for unpaid bills — and health insurance companies that use long lists of in-network doctors who turn out not to accept patients' insurance. But business advocates worry it'll have an unintended burden on small businesses, citing a study claiming 'excess tort costs' already saddle New Yorkers with $61.8 billion in unnecessary legal bills. 3 The entrance to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) headquarters is seen during a protest on February 10, 2025 in Washington, DC. Getty Images Advertisement Ashley Ranslow, New York State Director for the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said James' proposal 'would make it easier for lawyers to shake down small businesses with vague legal threats. 'Lawmakers should be focused on cutting costs and supporting small businesses, not making it easier for wealthy lawyers who have demonstrated no actual harm to sue them out of existence,' she said. Justin Wilcox, executive director of Upstate United, said the bill has 'vague definitions' that lawyers will exploit for profit, not justice. Advertisement Business Council lobbyist Chelsea Lemon said Gov. Kathy Hochul and lawmakers need to reject the bill if they are 'truly serious about addressing affordability.' James had no immediate comment to backlash from business interests. But during a press conference in March, she said the legislation was necessary while criticizing the Trump administration. 'At a time when the federal government is making life harder, we want to make life easier for New Yorkers,' James said. 'The FAIR Business Practices Act will close loopholes that make it too easy for New Yorkers to be scammed, and will allow my office to go after anyone who violates the law and look forward to working with my partners in state government to ensure that as Washington retreats from protecting consumers, New York steps up to lead.' 3 During a press conference in March, James said the legislation was necessary while criticizing the Trump administration. Pixsooz – Her office on Sunday provided statements from the Student Borrower Protection Center and the Small Business Majority who support the FAIR Act. James has been in the political and legal fire herself of late. Advertisement Trump's Justice Department last week launched a criminal probe into mortgage fraud claims against her. Taxpayers also could be on the hook for legal bills from the investigation into her real estate dealings, according to the state budget. James dismissed the allegations as 'baseless' and claimed the federal probe was part of a 'revenge tour' by the president because she brought civil fraud charges against him and his company, the Trump Organization. James famously professed, 'no one is above the law,' when she launched her investigation into Trump in 2019 — which ended with a $454 million judgment against him and his real estate firm.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pentagon launches probe into Signalgate after Trump White House declares case "closed
The Pentagon is diving deeper into the controversy surrounding a group chat between Trump administration officials discussing war plans in Yemen. Department of Defense Inspector General Steven Stibbins shared in a memo that he plans to investigate Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's contributions to the group chat, which unwittingly contained a member of the press. The announcement of the probe on Thursday came days after the Trump White House shared that the matter was "closed." 'The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business,' Stebbins wrote. The probe was launched at the request of the top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Those Senators, Roger Wicker, R-Miss, and Jack Reed, D-R.I., said reporting on Hegseth and others' conduct 'raises questions as to the use of unclassified networks to discuss classified and sensitive information." Questions over security have dogged the DoD since National Security Advisor Michael Waltz inadvertently added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the group chat that also contained Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. The new investigation comes just days after White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's claim that the matter was settled. 'This case has been closed here at the White House, as far as we are concerned,' Leavitt said on Monday. Stebbins has served as the acting Inspector General for the Department of Defense since January when Trump fired the previous IG amid a massive purge of the bureaucrats charged with agency oversight.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pentagon inspector general to investigate Pete Hegseth's role in Signal chat leak
The top internal investigative office at the Pentagon announced Thursday that it would probe allegations that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used the commercially available messaging app Signal to discuss classified information about a U.S. military strike in Yemen. The announcement comes about 10 days after The Atlantic revealed that its editor-in-chief was inadvertently added to a Signal group chat that included Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, national security adviser Mike Waltz and other senior administration officials discussing upcoming military actions. 'The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the Secretary of Defense and other [Department of Defense] personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business,' acting Inspector General Steven Stebbins wrote in a memo to Hegseth. Stebbins said his decision to conduct the review was spurred by a March 26 letter from Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., the chair and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. In their letter, the senators asked Stebbins to 'conduct an inquiry' into whether Hegseth shared sensitive or classified information in the group chat. . Specifically, Wicker and Reed asked Stebbins to determine what exactly Hegseth communicated in the chat and whether he'd adhered to the Pentagon's classification and declassification policies as well as its policies on sharing sensitive and classified information on nongovernment networks and devices. They further requested information on whether the White House, Pentagon, National Security Council and other departments all have the same policies for communicating this kind of information. Hegseth and other senior administration officials have repeatedly denied that he shared classified info in the group chat. The inspector general inquiry will also look at whether rules about records retention were followed. The Atlantic's Jeffrey Goldberg wrote last week that Waltz added him to a Signal group chat called 'Houthi PC small group' where Vance, Waltz, Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and others discussed plans to strike Houthi militants in Yemen. After Hegseth and the White House denied any classified information or specific plans were disclosed in the chat, The Atlantic published a full transcript of the conversation, which included Hegseth sharing operational details ahead of the attack. Those details included the timing and nature of specific strikes, using language like, '1410: More F-18s LAUNCH,' and '1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.' President Donald Trump told NBC News last weekend that no one involved in the Signal group chat would be fired. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Pentagon inspector general launches investigation into Signal app use
April 3 (UPI) -- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other members of the Trump administration are being investigated for their recent use of a Signal app before a military strike on the Houthis in Yemen. The March 15 chat held on the encrypted Signal app discussed a pending military strike and accidentally included The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Whicker, R-Miss., and ranking member Jack Reed, D-R.I., on March 26 asked acting Department of Defense Inspector General Steven Stebbins to conduct an expedited investigation into DOD's use of the Signal app in that instance and others, ABC News reported. "The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the secretary of defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of a commercial messaging application for official business," Stebbins said Thursday in a memo to Hegseth. "Additionally, we will review compliance with classification and records retention requirements." Stebbins said the investigation's objectives might change as the evaluation proceeds. Hegseth has denied any operational plans were shared among senior members of the Trump administration during the group chat that included Vice President JD Vance, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard and others. Goldberg on March 16 revealed someone included him in the group chat held over the encrypted app that discussed a pending military strike the day before. The target became known after the U.S. military struck Houthis sites in Yemen on March 15.
New York Times
03-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Pentagon Will Review Hegseth's Use of Signal
The Pentagon's acting inspector general will review Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's disclosure on the Signal messaging app of the timing U.S. fighter jets' airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, the Defense Department's watchdog agency announced Thursday. 'The objective of this evaluation is to determine the extent to which the secretary of defense and other DoD personnel complied with DoD policies and procedures for the use of commercial messaging application for official business,' the acting inspector general, Steven Stebbins, said in a notification letter to Mr. Hegseth. Mr. Stebbins started the review in response to a joint bipartisan request last week from Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, the Republican chairman of the Armed Services Committee, and the committee's ranking Democrat, Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. The statement from Mr. Stebbins, who took over as acting inspector general after Mr. Trump's firing of Robert Storch, notably called the review an evaluation and not an investigation. 'Our evaluation will be objective, independent and thorough, and we will release the unclassified portions of our evaluation when it is complete,' said Mollie Halpern, a spokeswoman for the inspector general's office. The difference, Ms. Halpern said, is that investigations may involve allegations of civil or criminal wrongdoing, while 'evaluations' are focused more on operations, policies and programs. Mr. Reed took issue with Mr. Hegseth's semantic argument that he did not disclose war plans on the Signal group chat that inadvertently included the journalist and editor of The Atlantic, Jeff Goldberg. 'Those were sensitive and detailed bits of information that if they had fallen into the hands of the Houthis would have caused them to move in offensive weapons against our pilots,' he said in a telephone interview with The New York Times just after he and Mr. Wicker called for the investigation. Mr. Goldberg was mistakenly added to the text chat by Michael Waltz, the national security adviser. It was an extraordinary breach of U.S. national security intelligence. Mr. Goldberg said he was able to follow the conversation among senior members of President Trump's national security team in the two days leading up to the strikes in Yemen on March 15. The Signal group also included Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 'Our service members put their lives on the line every day to protect our nation and deserve better than officials who would risk their safety just so they can text each other congratulations,' said Representative Gerald E. Connolly, Democrat of Virginia, who also requested an inspector general investigation, in a statement Thursday. 'This blatant breach of security protocol and violation of law demands a fulsome, free and fair investigation.' Separately on Thursday, Democratic Senators Adam Schiff of California, Andy Kim of New Jersey, Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan wrote a letter asking Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, for new information to determine any damage to national security done by the administration's use of commercial apps. On Monday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said a White House review of the leak had been closed after steps were taken to 'ensure that something like that can obviously never happen again.'
