Eric Schneiderman, New York's Attorney General, Resigns Amid Abuse Accusations

[pnwmom]

Source: NY Times

Eric T. Schneiderman, the New York attorney general who rose to prominence as an antagonist of the Trump administration, abruptly resigned on Monday night, hours after four women accused him of physically assaulting them in an article published by The New Yorker.

"It's been my great honor and privilege to serve as attorney general for the people of the State of New York," Mr. Schneiderman said in a statement. "In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me.

"While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office's work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8, 2018."

His resignation represented a stunning fall for a politician who had not only turned his office into a bulwark of resistance against President Trump, but also assumed a prominent role in the #MeToo movement.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/07/nyregion/new-york-attorney-general-eric-schneiderman-abuse.html?mtrref=news.url.google.com&gwh=024B112878EBF56DBAD4A81A62F06A4F&gwt=pay

---

Lawrence O'Donnell just said that one of the reporters, Jane Mayer, will be coming to speak with him during this hour.


Here's the CNN story:

https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/07/politics/eric-schneiderman-violence-allegations/index.html

[Chicago1980]

1. WOW!!!

That was fast...

[pnwmom]

3. He had no choice. Even if he's innocent, he can't have these accusations

hanging over him while he runs for re-election in November.

[calimary]

37. And hang over his head they would.

I'm glad that at least the blood-letting has been quick, and it won't be dragged out and compound the problems. A fast decapitation as opposed to letting this mess bleed to death. The accusations by those women sound pretty doggone nasty, I must admit. Plus one other thing: Ronan Farrow worked on this story. He's proven himself as a journalist and he's frankly impressed me with his thorough work.

I just hope this doesn't hamper the trump/cohen investigation.

[laserhaas]

41. Sad state of affairs. - Wodervwho will replace him?

Shheesshh

[Wawannabe]

31. I said that about Cuomo

Asking for resignation OP. And this was my first thought upon learning he had resigned.
Wow.

[Boomer]

2. Credible accusations

Maddow had a pretty damning rundown of the charges and the women who made them. If these were bogus, he wouldn't have resigned so quickly. The truth will out over the next few days, but I'm betting it confirms what was reported.

No one is above law. No one.

[Fiendish Thingy]

4. Will there be a special election, succession, or appointee by Cuomo? Nt

[PoliticAverse]

6. NY legislature appoints replacement. n/t

[CincyDem]

9. The Republican legislature - to be clear. n/t

[PoliticAverse]

17. Democrats control the Assembly, Republicans control the Senate (by a single Democratic vote). n/t

[CincyDem]

20. yeah - I got that. Read "legislature" and thought "senate". Thanks. n/t

[rainlillie]

48. The replacement will be temporary, because of the 2018 midterm election.

How much you want to bet Republicans are going to pour a ton of money into this election. This whole thing doesn't seem right. The one guy who was investigating both Trump and Cohen for NYS is gone. There's a chance a Republican will win the position in November.

[blkyank1]

53. There's always a chance

But any GOP candidate for NY AG is gonna have to take a public stand against many positions of the Trump
Administration.

A GOPer candidate may be able to play things close to the vest and say no comment about the criminal investigations
about the Trump campaign/Administration, but they can't pull that concerning NY State reaction to Federal policy.

What would he/she do concerning various lawsuits filed/to be filed by the state involving immigration
environmental laws, so-called Muslim bans and so forth?

The GOP can dump all the money it wants in the AG race, but it needs an actual candidate who could win during
a possible blue wave election in one of the bluest of states, that now has even more reason to motivate its liberal
base to show up and vote.

They would have to run a never Trumper, who would take public stances against Trump on policy, in the hope that
at the moment of truth, he/she would be ready to throw away his career and higher NY State office prospects, by
refusing to file state charges against Trump if Mueller is neutralized.

NY State hates Trump, and that AG would have to step down the next day if they tried to carry Trump's water.

[PoliticAverse]

5. His statemment on the NY AG website...

https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/statement-attorney-general-eric-t-schneiderman

“It’s been my great honor and privilege to serve as Attorney General for the people of the State of New York. In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me. While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8, 2018.”

[KewlKat]

7. Is Preet in the N.Y. AGs office? If so, could he replace Schneiderman?

[PoliticAverse]

13. No, he was a Federal prosecutor and is no longer in government.

He could always be appointed Schneiderman's replacement.

[SergeStorms]

25. Be prepared for a Republican AG in NY.

The legislature chooses his replacement, and although the Democrats have a slim advantage, a few Democrats routinely vote for the Republican side of any issue. If a Republican is appointed, this could jeopardize any New York cases against TrumpCo.

[onenote]

49. The law states that the replacement is chosen by a "joint ballot" of the two houses.

If that means every Senator and every member of the assembly gets one vote, then the Democrats have a clear majority.

[SergeStorms]

55. There are several Democrats.....

in the New York Senate that usually jump the aisle and vote Republican, for whatever reason. They run as Democrats, are elected as Democrats, but vote Republican. There's a big push to remove these State Senators in favor of real Democrats, but that won't happen this year. With those Senators voting Republican it negates the slim advantage the Democrats have, in number only.

[onenote]

68. Democrats have a massive majority in the state assembly

I don’t know for certain what the law means when it says that a vacancy in the attorney general’s Office is filled by a “joint” ballot of the assembly and senate but if it means each senator and each assembly member gets one vote each on a single combined (“joint”) ballot the Democrats have the votes to pick anyone they want.

[alp227]

47. Furthermore, he would cause appearances of conflict of interest

due to him being fired by Trump from the Justice Department.

[DURHAM D]

8. Okay.

Can Hillary take his place? Sweet justice.

[SergeStorms]

26. I wish!

But alas and alack, no, she can't.

[DesertRat]

46. The New York legislature could appoint her.

Hillary is an attorney and lives in New York. Could you imagine?

[spooky3]

52. That would be great. She's competent and

So smart that she learns complexities so quickly.

[JoeOtterbein]

10. Good. Now our response NEEDS to be that Dems get rid of their creeps, while the GOP...

...elect their creeps POTUS. So Trump must go NOW.

Now, say it over and over and over and....................

Everytime someone mentions the NY AG et al, say it over and over and over...............

[Boomer]

15. Exactly this.

We would have no credibility, but even more importantly, we would have no integrity if we ignored accusations of really vicious behavior because the NY AG was useful to our partisan cause.

I'm not a tribalist. I'm not going to circle the wagons in to an Us vs. Them to protect a man who abuses women (and who frankly sounds like he's just one drunk-rage slam away from accidentally killing someone).

[Bernardo de La Paz]

16. Needs refinement. Maybe build slogans or memes on the "Clean house" metaphor.

There is the White House involved, after all.

[JoeOtterbein]

27. No, just say; Fire All the Creeps, Trump your're FIRED!

Kinda like bada-book-bada-boom!

[Bernardo de La Paz]

33. It may give you a thrill but it won't sway anyone. . . . nt

[JoeOtterbein]

34. Any particular reason why it will not work?

Marketing works. We need to repeat Trump is a Creep. over and over and over.......

[Bernardo de La Paz]

50. 1. Yes, marketing works. 2. All swayable voters know he's a creep already.

I do appreciate you being creative about this. And I'm not a marketing genius or wizard. And it is true that repetition is a big aspect of marketing.

I think memes and slogans and talking points (MSTP) need to emphasize that there is a difference between how the Party of Adults (Democrats) deal with the issue versus the Party of Spoiled Brats (Republicans). I've used fanciful names for illustration of contrast but they are too in-your-face to use.

An ideal MSTP kind of stops the person in their tracks and gets them thinking for about 3 seconds and to say "You're right. I never thought about it just like that."

Tough goal to aim for, but aim high. Plus we have to aim at the wobbly middle. Deplorable Trumpanzees will not be swayed by moralizing about creeps.

So I'm thinking more like: "The Democratic Party cleans house, the Republican Party creeps the People's House", with a picture of the White House.

Just an idea. And ideas are only starting points.

Keep thinking and sharing with Democrats.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

11. It's a shame it had to come to this. . . . nt

[forgotmylogin]

21. True. He needed to go...

but hopefully the rule about "cutting off the head of the dragon results in three heads growing back" will apply - similar to how if 45 fires Mueller, the investigation doesn't go away.

Traitor Tot better not gloatingly tweet about this if he knows what's good for him - he's got enough scandal hanging over his head that it wouldn't at all be in his best interest.

[BigmanPigman]

12. Just fucking great?!?

Why can't we Dems get a break? Of course this is terrible for the women and he should resign, but come on...when are things going to go smoothly for Dems? I was really counting on him to come and save the day if it came down to pardons and trying the moron in the state's courts if it came down to that.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

51. The NYAG's office has 650 assistant AGs.

Six Hundred Fifty. I'm sure the show will go on without a hitch when Schneiderman is gone, since the assistants who are assigned to these investigations are the people who are doing the actual work. No one person is going to save the day, and whatever day-saving happens will be on account of the work of the men and women of the NYAG's office, regardless of who is the front man (which is what the AG really is).

[BigmanPigman]

59. Thank you...that does help me feel better.

After reading about an article in Time mag about the FBI I became even more depressed. I followed that with Capote (film) which didn't help either.

[tonekat]

14. While the Dems clean up their act...

...the same offenses on the GOP side are met with a shrug and they proceed with business as usual. Hard to beat someone with that kind of a moral code.

[Iliyah]

18. Clean what act?

Plan AAAA is still here.

[Boomer]

19. If you join them, then the battle is lost

I don't want the Dems to win because I'm a Dem tribalist. I want them to win because this party stands for my beliefs.

If Dems start taking on the same tribalist/partisan over country/partisan over the law behavior that the GOP has done, them I'm out of the party. And a pox on both their houses.

[LittleGirl]

23. Thank you.

I will walk away if we don't hold our own to our standards of decency and integrity.
Why does IQ45 get away with the same?

[Iliyah]

24. Stop it.

[mr_lebowski]

56. And where will you be going, exactly?

Just curious ...

[raccoon]

66. And those on the GOP side often call all their accusers "Liars." nt

[SergeStorms]

22. Unbelievable.

What is wrong with these guys? It seems to be a curse to be a New York Attorney General. Spitzer, and now Schneiderman.

I feel for the women who were subjected to this abuse. There is absolutely no excuse for this.

I also hope this doesn't interfere with Mueller's plans for Mr. Trump. If it was a Republican AG they'd deny it forever and nothing would come of it. That's just how Republicans roll.

[McCamy Taylor]

30. GOP slimes with sex. That is what is wrong with these guys.

If you choose to be a Democrat in this country, you will be slimed with sex. And there is absolutely no way to tell the guilty from the innocent and the somewhere in between. So everyone who is on a high horse, get off. This is the McCarthy Era all over again, you are just to afraid to say it---the same way that most of you would have been too afraid to say that the Communist scare was a load of bull crap for fear of being labeled red yourself.

[SergeStorms]

35. That's a pretty risky POV to defend.

Are you saying none of these women who claim sexual abuse at the hands of these men are telling the truth? Every Democratic male is being set up, and we're all willing dupes to these cases of sexual abuse?

Hey, if you want to go there, good luck. I'm old enough to know what evil lurks in the hearts of even the most innocent acting man. We're not all assholes, but we're certainly not all saints, either. Are there false allegations against some men? Of course there are, and most times it's for reason of politics or revenge. But to discount everything these women say is ridiculous. I know you're disappointed. So am I. But a wholesale dismissal of these women's claims goes well beyond the pale of reason and decency.

[mr_lebowski]

57. Yeah. And that's exactly what Schneiderman should've done, IMHO ... this is war ...

And there are bigger issues.

Let the flames begin, I really don't GAF anymore.

We're losing.

BADLY.

Fuck this double-standard bullshit. This is WHY THEY WIN.

[McCamy Taylor]

28. Easy solution to all this mud slinging---nominate only women.

Will be much harder for men to claim they felt victimized.

[7962]

64. Some of those instances are also coming out now. Power knows no gender apparently.

But it would definitely be something men would think more than twice about, because men would also be more likely to be made fun of by OTHER men.

[IronLionZion]

29. Any chance his Republican replacement would like to take down Trump?

Many blue state Republicans are against Trump.

Damn it. Maybe another state might have a chance. New Jersey? DC?

[brooklynite]

39. Why do you assume there'll be a "Republican replacement"?

[IronLionZion]

61. Why else would they take him down?

[brooklynite]

62. Explain how "they" got a two-year girlfriend and progressive activist to "take him down"?

As to your original comment, the replacement is chosen jointly by the Democratic Assembly and the Republican Senate.

[IronLionZion]

63. We should elect more Democrats in NY state

for situations like this

[onenote]

70. We have a 60-plus vote majority it the state assembly

So we’re covered for “situations like this”.

[IronLionZion]

71. Senate

[onenote]

72. The vacancy is filled by a "joint ballot" of the assembly and senate

One ballot. Each senator and each assembly member gets one vote. The 60 plus majority in the assembly easily offsets thectepub senators and senate DINOs.

[IronLionZion]

74. Excellent, I hope they elect someone who takes down Trump

[Stonepounder]

32. It just seems very strange to me that

New Yorker breaks the story. 4 women, 2 identified, 2 don't want to be identified claim abuse.

These women are supposedly progressives who willingly slept with him (while he was not married) who now,
in the middle of the Trump/Manafort/Cohen thing.

Cuomo immediately calls for his resignation.

Schneiderman is toast.

Everyone is not assuming he is guilty.

Pardon me if I at least wonder if this might be an orchestrated black op here.

[dixiegrrrrl]

40. I was thinking..hopefully....the same thing, until I read the New Yorker article.

I've worked with domestic violence victims for years. I can tell you that the details 2 of his victims provided rings absolutely true.

Hate to say it,

As Dems, we are not immune to hypocrisy in our ranks. ( Weiner, anyone?)

[laserhaas]

43. Possibly, there was inducements

Strange how this came about..

[blkyank1]

54. It wasn't about

Being a willing sex partner. It was about Schneiderman being allegedly into rough stuff during that sex.
Could it be a black op? Yeah. But the reason Cuomo wanted Schneiderman out (besides the bad optics
of the claims) was that he was a rival of Cuomo and another center of Democratic power in the state.

By removing the ambitious and media savvy, Schneiderman, Cuomo is protecting himself while trying
to consolidate his own power base for a Presidential run.

The NY State Democratic establishment of Gov.Cuomo, Sen. Schumer, and Sen.Gilibrand, don't need
any distractions during the mid-terms and while laying the groundwork for 2020.

[7962]

65. Watch interviews with the reporter and you wont think its a black op.

This is a bad story with too many coincidences to be a set up

[brooklynite]

36. The R Senate and D Assembly will agree on a placeholder who probably won't run for re-election

[pnwmom]

45. Makes sense. I hope it's someone with integrity

because all hell could break loose nationally, at any given moment. Schneiderman was supposed to be part of a bulwark of sanity. What a disappointment.

[TheCowsCameHome]

38. This is really helpful.

WTF is wrong with these people?

[Calista241]

42. I've always wondered what happens when an article like this is going to be published.

I mean, it couldn't possibly have been a surprise to him. He had to have known the article was in the works. Someone would have told them Ronan Farrow was asking all his ex's about this stuff, and several of his friends were approached.

[laserhaas]

44. It sucks

[Hugin]

58. Bleh... Now we know why Ghouliani has been so smug.

He probably knew this was in the works.

In fact, I guarantee it.

[PoliticAverse]

76. That's just the way he usually is. n/t

[SkatmanRoth]

60. Schneiderman should resign and let this play out in court - but the Republicans will Grand Stand

The Republicans timed these charges for maximum political effect. They obviously are using a tragic situation where an individual made criminally bad choices, and using it as a warning/revenge for Trump's investigations.

While Schneiderman's actions are inexcusable, the Republicans exploitation of the matter are an order of magnitude worse. No one, not a single member of the press, not a single Republican, nor a single person in law enforcement will have any respect for women who are the victims here.

[7962]

67. "called me 'brown slave', would slap me till I called him 'master'"

https://nypost.com/2018/05/07/ex-schneiderman-called-me-his-brown-slave-would-slap-me-until-i-called-him-master/

I cannot imagine being in this position. He's beyond disgusting.

[sinkingfeeling]

69. And another good man run out of office while all the GOP offenders stay.

[SharonAnn]

73. He doesn't sound like a "good man".

[Jedi Guy]

75. ...

Hitting and degrading women are traits of a "good man" to you? Really? This guy is slime.

[oberliner]

77. What a disgusting post

[pnwmom]

79. Photos and doctors records are part of the evidence that he isn't a good man.

Innocent till proven guilty but that standard doesn't apply to determining the person who should be running for election as a Democrat in November.

[Snackshack]

78. Wow

That’s was quick but honestly soon as I saw his statement saying there was “role playing” it was apparent what was going to happen. It would be good to see Preet put in the job but there would obviously be a conflict the same with Sally Yates and HRC. Hopefully it will not be Rudy...

Either way we need to understand that the Justice Department/SDNY/Mueller was/is not going to be the answer to the overall issue of trump. It is going to take the election in November. The Democratic Party has to win a majority in the House or Senate or both in order to put a check on trump and ensure proper investigations take place.