Latest news with #Stefanik
The Hill
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Stefanik's latest battle doesn't fight antisemitism; it attacks due process
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) became the scourge of university leaders on Dec. 5, 2023, when she baited the presidents of Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and MIT into seemingly tolerating calls for 'genocide of the Jews.' Their tepid responses cost two of them their jobs. At subsequent hearings of the House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee, Stefanik scorched other university presidents for giving equivocal answers about campus antisemitism. Stefanik's latest target has been a legal clinic at the City University of New York School of Law, called CUNY CLEAR, an acronym for Creating Law Enforcement Accountability and Responsibility. At a hearing last week, Stefanik berated CUNY Chancellor Felix Matos Rodriguez for CLEAR's representation of Mahmoud Khalil, whom she called 'the chief pro-Hamas agitator that led to the antisemitic encampments at Columbia.' Whatever the merits of Stefanik's other accusations, she is absolutely wrong about CUNY CLEAR. Representation of a controversial client is in the best tradition of legal education. Khalil was a leader of the pro-Palestinian occupation at Columbia, advancing inflammatory claims and demands. He was also a lawful permanent resident — a green card holder — married to an American citizen. Last March, Khalil was arrested by agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Although he was not charged with a crime, the Department of State asserted that Khalil's green card had been revoked under the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, because his pro-Palestinian advocacy posed serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the U.S. Khalil was whisked to a detention facility in central Louisiana. He was held for 104 days until his release was ordered by a federal judge. He is still facing deportation. Outraged that CUNY CLEAR had played a key role in Khalil's representation, Stefanik called upon Rodriguez to fire the CUNY professor who coordinated the defense. Rodriguez was non-committal, promising only to investigate the situation. That was the tactful response, but he missed a teachable moment. The mission of CUNY CLEAR is to support clients and communities 'targeted by local, state, or federal government agencies under the guise of national security and counterterrorism.' Although that may never be acceptable to Stefanik, Rodriguez should have explained that representing unpopular clients is what lawyers are supposed to do, and what law students should be taught to do. CLEAR helped return Khalil from detention in Louisiana to his family, including a newborn son, in New York. That also allowed him greater access to his attorneys, which is essential if he is to have any chance of challenging his deportation. I agree with almost nothing Khalil stands for, but I believe strongly in due process and fair trials. There is no right to appointed counsel in immigration cases, so Khalil's representation could only come from organizations such as the ACLU and CLEAR. In my years as a lawyer in Northwestern's Bluhm Legal Clinic, from 1975 to 1987, I represented plenty of unpopular or outcast clients. Some were obscure, including a lesbian mother seeking to regain custody of her daughter from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (which was hardly a foregone conclusion in those days). Others were notorious, such as the Ukrainian parents who wanted to take their 12-year-old son back to what was then the Soviet Union. I also represented Jews for Jesus who had been arrested picketing American Nazi Party headquarters, and Jewish Defense League members for the same thing. I represented Jewish leftists who had been prevented by a police cordon from protesting at a Nazi rally in a Chicago park. I worked with the Illinois ACLU during the Nazis-in-Skokie controversy. There were surely Northwestern trustees, and local politicians, who were unhappy with some aspects of my client list, which included accused gang members and assorted criminal defendants, along with members of the Revolutionary Communist Party. Nobody ever told me that representation should be withheld due to unpopular associations or opinions. There is indeed antisemitism at CUNY, and throughout academia, which I have documented. The representation of Khalil is in an entirely separate category. It is grist for a grandstander like Stefanik, but it is not an example of antisemitism. Among my most rewarding experiences as a clinic lawyer was obtaining the dismissal of charges against a 12 year-old girl accused of murdering her own baby. In 1976, I could not convince prosecutors to treat my client as an abused child herself, rather than a criminal. The only evidence against her was a confession, extracted by police, which my students and I succeeded in suppressing as involuntary. Decades later, I told the story in class. 'So you got her off,' remarked a student. 'No, we got her justice,' I explained. That is what legal clinics do.
New York Post
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Stefanik uses viral Astronomer CEO cheating photo to slam Mamdani, Hochul
It was the Kiss Cam seen around the internet, and now one House Republican is using it as a political cudgel. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., used the viral moment caught during a Coldplay concert that sparked allegations that Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his head of human resources, Kristin Cabot, were having an affair, to bash New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul. 'Commie Mamdani holding [Gov. Kathy Hochul] headed for re-election in 2026,' Stefanik said on X. Fox News Digital reached out to Hochul and Mamdani's offices for comment. Stefanik has so far flirted with a bid for the New York governor's mansion, but has yet to throw her name into the race. She was previously the number three Republican in House GOP leadership until she was tapped to be President Donald Trump's U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. However, Trump pulled his nomination and Stefanik returned to the House, where she again earned a spot in leadership. 4 Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-NY., speaks during the House Committee on Education and Workforce hearing on antisemitism on American campuses on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 7, 2025. AP 4 The pair were watching Coldplay perform in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 16, 2025, when frontman Chris Martin panned his 'kiss cam' onto them. Grace Springer via Storyful However, Stefanik is not the only House Republican eying a challenge against Hochul, who first took office in 2021 after former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is now battling Mamdani in New York City's mayoral contest, resigned. She won her first full term in 2022. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., is also mulling a bid against Hochul, and like Stefanik, has yet to announce his intentions. Lawler has twice won in typically Democratic districts, while Stefanik has held her seat in a deep red portion of upstate New York. But a recent poll found that if either entered the race, along with a potential third in Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, they would have an uphill climb against Hochul. 4 Democratic Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani joins union members at their rally at Foley Square in support of the UAW Legal Services Workers strike. / MEGA 4 New York Gov. Kathy Hochul speaks about the impact of federal cuts during a cabinet meeting in the Red Room at the State Capitol Thursday, July 17, 2025, in Albany, N.Y. Hans Pennink A recent poll from Sienna College found that Hochul leads each potential gubernatorial candidate by at least 20 points each. Meanwhile, Mamdani is fresh from Washington D.C., where he met with the likes of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. He's now back in New York to meet with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in a bid to secure their endorsements in his quest to beat New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
Politico
5 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Hochul faces perilous path on aid-in-dying legislation
The same poll found Hochul leading three potential Republican rivals in the 2026 gubernatorial race by at least 20 points, although none has announced. Corinne Carey, who serves as senior campaign director for New York and New Jersey for Compassion & Choices, which advocates for aid-in-dying bills, said that in the 11 states where similar laws passed there was little evidence of negative political consequences for supporters. 'No governor or lawmaker has ever lost at the polls following their action,' Carey said in a statement to POLITICO. 'Governor Hochul has nothing to fear politically and everything to gain by signing the Medical Aid in Dying Act into law.' But that's not stopping Hochul's political foes from wielding the issue as a political brickbat. One of her potential GOP challengers, Rep. Elise Stefanik, criticized the governor in a New York Post op-ed last month for her 'gutless silence' on the measure. 'The bill now sits on Hochul's desk, and where is she? Hiding. Silent. Dodging with a spineless 'she'll review the legislation' statement from her team,' Stefanik wrote, calling the legislation a 'moral travesty.' Hochul's office declined to comment on Stefanik's remarks or answer questions for this article. Stefanik and other aid-in-dying opponents have partly hinged their arguments on the state's low utilization of hospice and palliative care programs, which focus on improving seriously ill patients' quality of life by easing pain and distress. 'Instead of investing in palliative care, mental health support and life-affirming resources for those facing terminal illness, this legislation offers an immoral shortcut that devalues human life,' Stefanik said in a statement after its passage in the Assembly. But Jeanne Chirico, president of the Hospice & Palliative Care Association of New York State, denounced arguments that pit the two treatment pathways against each other. She said Hochul should invest more resources into hospice and palliative care regardless of her decision on medical aid in dying, noting that the association is neutral on the bill. In states that have authorized medical aid in dying, 88 percent of individuals who used it were enrolled in hospice or palliative care services at the time of their deaths, according to a report released this year by Compassion & Choices. New York would become the 12th state to legalize the measure. 'This is not an independent decision on medical aid in dying — this is about quality of end-of-life care,' Chirico said. Chirico said the association met post-session with the governor's office to discuss the aid-in-dying bill and press for state funding to bolster the hospice and palliative care workforce.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Campaign fundraising in NY-21 gives glimpse into 2026
Jul. 16—The 2026 election season is over a year out, but fundraising for the next congressional race is already underway for a few candidates in NY-21. According to the latest campaign finance reports from the Federal Election Commission, Rep. Elise M. Stefanik is leading the group with over $4 million raised in the second quarter this year. Through her fundraising arms including her campaign, the Team Elise joint fundraising committee, E-PAC and the Elise Victory Fund, she brought in the largest off-year haul of any New York Republican before her. Her main campaign arm, Elise for Congress, raised $1 million, and ended the quarter with $10 million in the bank ready to spend. Stefanik is openly considering a run for governor and could take that money to her campaign against Gov. Kathleen C. Hochul. Stefanik's main opposition for NY-21 in the current landscape had a much less active quarter. Blake Gendebien, running as the leading Democratic candidate for 2026 after he was chosen as the party's preliminary pick for a special election to replace Stefanik that never happened. Gendebien entered the special election with momentum and a large campaign operation, but once Stefanik's elevation to President Donald J. Trump's administration was canceled, the runway for his campaign got a lot longer. According to his quarterly report, Gendebien raised $200,000, almost entirely from individual contributions, but spent $266,224. He ended the quarter with $1,961,649 in available cash on hand, plus about $6,000 in debts and obligations. Gendebien's filings show he was spending more heavily in the early weeks of the quarter — early April, just after it was announced that Stefanik would not be leaving her seat and would remain in the House. Records show the Gendebien campaign had 12 staff members paid directly, between $1,400 and $3,400, constituting a $28,171 payroll, paid out twice each month around April. More recently, the campaign slimmed down; just two people got a direct salary on June 27, the last payday included in this filing. Gendebien is not the only Democrat registered to run in NY-21 for 2025, nor is Stefanik the only Republican registered with the FEC. Because of the anticipated special election, over a dozen people expressed interest in running for Congress if Stefanik left her seat and registered to run. However, because Stefanik never left the seat, no election was formally called and all the interested parties registered to run for the 2026 election. There are 11 people registered to run for Congress in NY-21 in 2026; six have no registered financial activity, including Democrats Pamela Marshall, Justin M. Haller, Andrew Henson and John Gunther. Republican Otto D. Miller is also registered with no activity, as is Community Party candidate Richard Grayson. All of these individuals filed shortly after Stefanik was first nominated to join the Trump administration, so it's not clear if they plan to run in 2026. Registering with the FEC is only one step of seeking office, and registering with the FEC by no means ensures a candidate will actually make it to the primary or general election ballot. A handful of the other candidates do show some financial activity; Paula Collins, who ran against Stefanik last year, raised about $13,500 this year but is moving to close her campaign down. Anthony T. Constantino, an Amsterdam factory owner who self-funded a special election campaign with $2.6 million in money he won betting on Tesla in the stock market, filed a report showing he didn't take any donations, but spent $151,773 to maintain his campaign over the three-month period. The $2.6 million is recorded as a loan from Constantino to his own campaign; giving him the ability to pay it back with money raised in the future or write it off as a loss. It also shows he spent over $33,000 with his own company, Sticker Mule, for events including one $32,500 expense for food, beverages, management and donor mementos recorded on April 2, just before the special election was called off. The campaign recorded relatively small, routine operating charges through the remainder of the quarter, showing definite activity with payments for media production, consulting, software subscriptions, mailer creation, and similar transactions through May and June. One other candidate shows financial activity, although not anything significant in this quarter. Dylan Hewitt, a former Biden Administration staffer in the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, raised over $100,000 in the first quarter of this year, but didn't file anything for this most recent quarter. It also shows he recorded just under $3,000 in operating expenses and refunded close to everything he raised, leaving just $10,642 in his campaign accounts since April. Since April, his campaign recorded just $345 in fundraising and $91 in expenses. In a statement, Hewitt said he is still active in the district, touring the region and speaking with voters, but he isn't fundraising right now. "Tariffs are already driving up prices, and now experts say Elise Stefanik's deciding vote to gut Medicaid could mean a 114-mile stretch with no access to care between Glens Falls and Plattsburgh," he said in a statement to the Times. "It's a one-two punch that makes billionaires even richer while leaving our families with higher grocery bills and skyrocketing health care premiums. That's why, over the last three months, I didn't ask people for what's in their wallets, I spent that time traveling across the north country, asking my neighbors what's on their minds about their futures, their families, and their self-worth." Hewitt has not announced a plan to run for NY-21, which would entail a primary against Gendebien, but he's maintaining a presence at local gatherings, on social media and in local media.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Collins, former NY-21 Democratic candidate, won't run again
Jul. 15—Paula Collins, the Democrat who ran to unseat U.S. Rep. Elise M. Stefanik last year, will not be running again. Collins filed documents to terminate her campaign in May, although the process is not entirely done yet. In a statement shared with the Watertown Daily Times, Collins, a cannabis law attorney with roots in New York City, said she has stepped back from the campaign to support the party's efforts to elect a Democrat now that it seems likely Stefanik won't seek reelection to the seat. "In light of the personal challenges to members of the legal profession, as well as in support of the party's efforts to launch a viable candidate for NY-21, it makes sense to suspend my campaign at this time. I wish all Democratic candidates in NY-21 strength and resilience for the upcoming midterm elections," she said via text. Collins ran unopposed for the Democratic Party's nomination against Stefanik in 2024, launching a campaign centered on rebuilding a languishing Democratic opposition in NY-21. She leaned on her New York City connections where the party was stronger to try and boost her campaign, but in the general election carried just 38% of the vote to Stefanik's 62%. During her campaign, Collins said she would run again in 2026, and when it appeared that Stefanik would vacate her seat to join President Donald J. Trump's cabinet, Collins sought support in the anticipated special election to replace her. Ultimately, local Democratic Party leaders coalesced around Blake Gendebien, a dairy farmer from St. Lawrence County, to be their candidate in that race, and the party support for Gendebien has carried forward. Collins filed in May not to suspend, but to terminate her campaign. At the time, her campaign finance report showed she had just about $94,600 in cash on hand, and owed about $41,700 to Blue Wave Political Partners, a campaign consulting firm from Seattle. Last month, the Federal Election Commission requested additional information to terminate the campaign; they ruled the campaign hasn't proven it is eligible to close because it hasn't shown it is done taking contributions, hasn't settled all debts, and must share a statement explaining a plan to dispose of residual campaign funds. Those documents are due July 22.
