Latest news with #WestchesterCounty-based
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP Rep. Lawler calls Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘Jewish space laser lady' in SALT feud
Rep. Mike Lawler traded insults with fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in a nasty online spat over his push for a higher cap on deducting state and local taxes, or SALT. Calling MTG 'the Jewish space laser lady,' Lawler said hardline right-wing Republicans should pay more attention to winning swing seats like his Westchester County-based district if they want to keep control of the House of Representatives. 'Shockingly the 'Jewish Space Laser' lady once again doesn't have a clue what she is talking about,' Lawler posted on X, referring to Taylor Greene. 'By the way, the reason you enjoy a gavel is because Republicans like me have won our seats. Good luck being in the Majority if we don't.' Taylor Greene — a Georgia MAGA stalwart who once spouted the antisemitic conspiracy theory that the Rothschild banking family created 'space lasers' that caused the California wildfires — countered that Lawler should credit President Donald Trump with winning Congress. 'Lawler usually isn't the guy in the conference with the best ideas,' she wrote. Lawler pointed out that he is one of three out of 220 sitting Republican lawmakers who won districts Trump lost in the 2024 election. Without those three GOP lawmakers, the party would not hold the 218 seats needed for a majority, he said. 'I know math is difficult but: 220 – 3 = 217,' Lawler wrote. The tit-for-tat Twitter spat comes as warring Republican factions were set for a crucial meeting Thursday to seek agreement on SALT and other knotty disputes that have endangered Trump's sprawling budget bill. Far right-wing lawmakers like Taylor Greene want even deeper cuts to social safety net programs like Medicaid, while relative moderates want to limit the pain on their constituents. Some fiscal hawks are insisting upon smaller tax cuts to avoid blowing up the deficit. The current draft of the bill includes an increase in the cap on SALT deductions to $30,000 from the current $10,000. Lawler and a handful of other self-described 'SALT Republicans' from affluent suburban districts in high-tax blue states have vowed to vote against the bill if it doesn't hike the SALT cap by a much larger amount, although they haven't identified an acceptable number.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
GOP Rep. Lawler calls Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘Jewish space laser lady' in SALT feud
Rep. Mike Lawler traded insults with fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in a nasty online spat over his push for a higher cap on deducting state and local taxes, or SALT. Calling MTG 'the Jewish space laser lady,' Lawler said hardline right-wing Republicans should pay more attention to winning swing seats like his Westchester County-based district if they want to keep control of the House of Representatives. 'Shockingly the 'Jewish Space Laser' lady once again doesn't have a clue what she is talking about,' Lawler posted on X, referring to Taylor Greene. 'By the way, the reason you enjoy a gavel is because Republicans like me have won our seats. Good luck being in the Majority if we don't.' Taylor Greene — a Georgia MAGA stalwart who once spouted the antisemitic conspiracy theory that the Rothschild banking family created 'space lasers' that caused the California wildfires — countered that Lawler should credit President Donald Trump with winning Congress. 'Lawler usually isn't the guy in the conference with the best ideas,' she wrote. Lawler pointed out that he is one of three out of 220 sitting Republican lawmakers who won districts Trump lost in the 2024 election. Without those three GOP lawmakers, the party would not hold the 218 seats needed for a majority, he said. 'I know math is difficult but: 220 – 3 = 217,' Lawler wrote. The tit-for-tat Twitter spat comes as warring Republican factions were set for a crucial meeting Thursday to seek agreement on SALT and other knotty disputes that have endangered Trump's sprawling budget bill. Far right-wing lawmakers like Taylor Greene want even deeper cuts to social safety net programs like Medicaid, while relative moderates want to limit the pain on their constituents. Some fiscal hawks are insisting upon smaller tax cuts to avoid blowing up the deficit. The current draft of the bill includes an increase in the cap on SALT deductions to $30,000 from the current $10,000. Lawler and a handful of other self-described 'SALT Republicans' from affluent suburban districts in high-tax blue states have vowed to vote against the bill if it doesn't hike the SALT cap by a much larger amount, although they haven't identified an acceptable number.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rep. Lawler calls Marjorie Taylor Greene ‘Jewish space laser lady' in SALT feud
Rep. Mike Lawler traded insults with fellow Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in a nasty online spat over his push for a higher cap on deducting state and local taxes, or SALT. Calling MTG 'the Jewish space laser lady,' Lawler said hardline right-wing Republicans should pay more attention to winning swing seats like his Westchester County-based district if they want to keep control of the House of Representatives. 'Shockingly the 'Jewish Space Laser' lady once again doesn't have a clue what she is talking about,' Lawler posted on X, referring to Taylor Greene. 'By the way, the reason you enjoy a gavel is because Republicans like me have won our seats. Good luck being in the Majority if we don't.' Taylor Greene — a Georgia MAGA stalwart who once spouted the antisemitic conspiracy theory that the Rothschild banking family created 'space lasers' that caused the California wildfires — countered that Lawler should credit President Trump with winning Congress. 'Lawler usually isn't the guy in the conference with the best ideas,' she wrote. Lawler pointed out that he is one of three out of 220 sitting Republican lawmakers who won districts Trump lost in the 2024 election. Without those three GOP lawmakers, the party would not hold the 218 seats needed for a majority, he said. 'I know math is difficult but: 220 – 3 = 217,' Lawler wrote. The tit-for-tat Twitter spat comes as warring Republican factions were set for a crucial meeting Thursday to seek agreement on SALT and other knotty disputes that have endangered Trump's sprawling budget bill. Far right-wing lawmakers like Taylor Greene want even deeper cuts to social safety net programs like Medicaid, while relative moderates want to limit the pain on their constituents. Some fiscal hawks are insisting upon smaller tax cuts to avoid blowing up the deficit. The current draft of the bill includes an increase in the cap on SALT deductions to $30,000 from the current $10,000. Lawler and a handful of other self-described 'SALT Republicans' from affluent suburban districts in high-tax blue states have vowed to vote against the bill if it doesn't hike the SALT cap by a much larger amount, although they haven't identified an acceptable number.
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republicans talk compromise on remote voting for new moms in Congress
Congressional Republicans Friday were negotiating a possible compromise to allow remote voting for new mothers after President Trump urged them to find a solution to the dispute that threatened to derail his broader legislative agenda. In a major climbdown, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson was haggling over terms of a solution to a dispute with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) over her bipartisan proposal to allow lawmakers who recently became parents to vote remotely by proxy. 'We discussed limiting the vote to just new moms who cannot physically travel in event of emergency etc. This is smart,' Luna tweeted. Johnson deleted his own previous tweet that took a hard line on the dispute and suggested Luna and other proponents of the family-friendly reform measure could disrupt Trump's larger proposals for tax and spending cuts. The politics of the remote voting proposal shifted dramatically Thursday when Trump effectively sided with Luna and slapped down Johnson. 'I'm going to let the Speaker make the decision, but I like the idea,' Trump told reporters. 'If you're having a baby, I think you should be able to call in and vote. I'm in favor of that.' Luna's initial proposal would have allowed all new parents, both mothers and fathers, to vote remotely for three months before and after the birth of a new child. A rejiggered plan might limit remote voting to only new mothers, not fathers, and impose some additional conditions such as applying the rule only to those new moms with physical issues preventing them from voting in person at the Capitol. It's unclear if Democrats might object to those limitations but some of the handful of Republicans who broke ranks to back Luna signaled it would be an acceptable compromise. 'C'mon let's actually be pro-family… the Republic will survive this minor change,' tweeted Long Island Rep. Nick LaLota (R-New York), a father of three. 'Thanks @realDonaldTrump for supporting this common-sense, pro-family, pro-life measure championed by @realannapaulina!' added GOP Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents a swingy Westchester County-based district. Johnson might also need to deal with opposition from far right-wing Republicans who believe all remote voting is unconstitutional, even though most of them took advantage of the practice when it was permitted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regardless of whether Johnson can resolve the remote voting dispute, the whole matter amounts to a significant black eye for him. The House leader had enjoyed a string of political victories especially wrangling all GOP lawmakers except one to vote in favor of a stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown. With only a narrow seven-vote majority, Johnson needs to keep his famously fractious Republican caucus nearly unanimously unified if he hopes to pass Trump's sprawling plan for massive tax and spending cuts. Almost all GOP lawmakers say they support the broad strokes of Trump's plan, but some factions want much larger spending cuts, while others want smaller cuts that would not impact their constituents as much.
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bronx man freed after 23 years when attempted murder conviction overturned faces return to prison
A Bronx man who spent 23 years in prison and has been free for two years after his attempted murder conviction was overturned, has filed an emergency clemency petition with Gov. Hochul following a decision by an appeals panel to reinstate the judgment, records show. Andre Brown, 48, now faces the unusual situation of upending a life he has been building since his release amid the looming possibility he will be sent back to prison for shooting and wounding two people in January 1999 — a crime he steadfastly maintains he did not commit. Brown had already served 23 years of a 40-year sentence before he was freed in December 2022. Bronx DA Darcel Clark has declined thus far to support a resentencing that might take into account the many years he has already served, troubling questions about the case evidence and documented errors by Brown's trial lawyer — leading to the request for Hochul to intervene, said Jeffrey Deskovic, one of Brown's lawyers. On Wednesday afternoon, Clark agreed to a one-month stay in proceedings so the clemency review can take place, the DA's office confirmed. A court hearing slated for Thursday has been postponed until April 17. 'Andre has already served 23 years in prison, and it's doubtful he would have received a 40-year sentence today,' said Deskovic. 'This case is not like someone is granted clemency while on the inside. Here, he's been home for two years and has done extraordinary work in the community. What is there to be gained by reincarcerating him? He's an asset to society and we're going to lose out because of it.' The clemency plea also has the backing of the Innocence Project, which investigates wrongful convictions. Matt Janiszewski, a spokesman for Hochul, declined to comment on the clemency petition. Brown and his lawyers met with an official in Hochul's clemency office on Tuesday. Since his release, Brown has worked at a Westchester County-based nonprofit, where he founded a GED program and a chess club, Deskovic said. He has also worked with at-risk youth, in part running a book club, in New Rochelle City Court. He is married with a stepdaughter and a stepson. Before he went to prison his only work experience was a brief stint at Crate & Barrel, he said. He was a model prisoner, took a range of business classes and got a certificate as a paralegal behind bars and when he was freed he says he wanted to give back. 'One of my goals was to go back into Black and Brown communities and help give them a new way of life and a new way of thinking,' he told The News. 'I am totally innocent of this crime. There is a third party shooter, and we have the identity of this person,' Brown said. 'There are two individuals who were shot, but I am also a victim because I am an innocent person who was caught up in this.' In 1998, Brown, faced with having to help raise his siblings, 'turned to the street' and dealt crack cocaine until he was shot in the leg and nearly bled out, his clemency petition states. He quit dealing and enrolled in community college. On Jan. 15,1999, O'Neil Virgo and Shawn Nicholson, two drug dealers who had been involved in a turf war, were shot. Virgo was shot six times, but survived. Nicholson became a paraplegic. Brown heard cops wanted to speak to him and turned himself in with his lawyer at a police precinct and fully expected to be cleared, he said Wednesday. 'I walked right into the precinct because I was an innocent man who had nothing to hide,' he said. Brown was convicted in 1999 and sentenced to 40 years in prison. Once in prison, Brown filed a series of pro se appeals and then obtained lawyers who filed a 440 motion to vacate the conviction. On Dec. 1, 2022, Judge David Lewis issued the decision that set Brown free. Witnesses said the attacker had run away, and Lewis found that his trial lawyer, Thomas Lee, didn't present evidence that Brown had been previously shot in the leg one year earlier in January 1998, which prevented him from running from the scene. 'Counsel for Brown never addressed the issue that the injury to the leg made it impossible for him to run,' Lewis wrote in his 92-page decision. 'If he could not run, he could not be the gunman and thus could not be convicted.' Lee was later convicted of racketeering for being an associate of the Lucchese organized crime family. He was sentenced to time served in 2019 or three days in a federal holding cell and went into the witness protection program. His law license was reinstated in 2021. But in a Christmas Eve, 2024 ruling on Bronx DA Clark's appeal motion, the state Appellate Division rejected the decision of the lower court, suggesting the choice not to present the medical evidence could have been strategic. 'It is incumbent on defendant to demonstrate the absence of strategic or other legitimate explanations for counsel's failure' to introduce evidence, wrote appellate Judge Troy Webber. The New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, declined to grant permission to appeal, blocking further appeals. But, as the clemency plea details, Brown's lawyers also showed that according to two witnesses, Shonda 'Bonkers' Tyrell, a man the 'spitting image' of Brown, had been in a shootout with the victims at the same spot four days earlier. Tyrell died in 2000. The witnesses never testified because the trial judge refused to issue subpoenas without an address for the men, the plea states. Deskovic and Brown noted Clark has agreed to a resentencing in at least one other similar case. 'The real question is why she hasn't done it already — why with so much evidence are you not dismissing this indictment?' Brown said. 'This is destroying my family,' added Brown, whose son is 14. 'My daughter is graduating from college in May with a psychology degree. I will not be able to attend. My son who has NBA aspirations may become just a statistic. 'I don't believe DA Clark is putting any humanity into this. That's a heartless way to go about it.'
