Simone Biles’s Race-Baiting Social Posts Are Ruining Innocent Lives In Ireland
Racism is the most incendiary and illogical interpretation of the Gymnastics Ireland footage. But clout-chasers are still trying to sell it.
Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz's communications director has resigned after the lawmaker was hit with further claims amid the Justice Department's investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.
Gaetz vehemently denies all of the accusations made against him and says he is "not resigning."
MSNBC first reported Friday that Luke Ball, Gaetz's communications director, "quit out of principle," according to an unnamed person familiar with the matter.
Ball has not yet responded to several requests for comment on the matter, but Gaetz's office issued a statement later in the day saying that "The Office of Congressman Matt Gaetz and Luke Ball have agreed that it would be best to part ways. We thank him for his time in our office, and we wish him the best moving forward."
On Tuesday, Gaetz acknowledged to Axios that the DOJ is investigating him over allegations of sexual misconduct, after The New York Times reported the probe and claims that the lawmaker had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old. The Times noted that "investigators are examining whether Mr. Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws" by allegedly paying for the minor to travel with him.
Gaetz, 38, said that accusations are completely false, and claimed they were drummed up as part of an extortion plot from criminals trying to get $25 million from his father. He told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that the man who led the scheme is a former Justice Department official named David McGee. McGee denies Gaetz's claims.
On Tuesday, The Times reported in a follow-up piece that the DOJ is focusing on Gaetz and indicted former Florida tax collector Joel Greenberg's "involvement with multiple women who were recruited online for sex and received cash payments" from the men in exchange for drug-fueled hotel romps. Greenberg, an ally of Gaetz's, currently faces several felony charges including sex trafficking of a minor.
The story goes on to say:
In some cases, Mr. Gaetz asked women to help find others who might be interested in having sex with him and his friends, according to two people familiar with those conversations. Should anyone inquire about their relationships, one person said, Mr. Gaetz told the women to say that he had paid for hotel rooms and dinners as part of their dates.
Gaetz's office said in response to the report that "Matt Gaetz has never paid for sex," and the lawmaker "refutes all the disgusting allegations completely." It added that "Matt Gaetz cherishes the relationships in his past and looks forward to marrying the love of his life."
CNN then reported late Tuesday that Gaetz allegedly showed House colleagues nude photos and videos of females while bragging that he had slept with the women.
Gaetz denies all the reports, and told The Washington Examiner in a text, "I'm not resigning."
The Daily Mail reported Friday that Gaetz "is expected to be indicted within the next few weeks," after "the alleged victim, who has not been named, testified before a Florida grand jury this week saying she had sex with the conservative Republican before she turned 18."
A former journalist said recently that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and his administration bullied and attempted to intimidate her, according to the New York Post.
The woman, Lindsay Nielsen, is just one of several people who have come forward with allegations that the New York governor bullied and attempted to intimidate them.
Karen Hinton, a woman who once worked as Cuomo's press secretary, says that the New York governor is a master of "penis politics" and has a "penchant for bullying." She also insisted that Cuomo worked to undermine her and her experience on a regular basis while under his employ.
New York journalist Morgan Pehme claimed last week that Cuomo "terrorized" him for doing his job as a journalist.
Cuomo also reportedly threatened Assemblyman Ron Kim (D) for calling out Cuomo's "BS" as the state's ongoing COVID-19-nursing home scandal continues to unfold. During a phone conversation, Cuomo reportedly told Kim, "You have not seen my wrath. I have been biting my tongue for months. I can tell the whole world what a bad person you are and you will be finished. You will be destroyed."
A Cuomo senior adviser hit back at Kim's claims, alleging that the assemblyman was "lying about his conversation" with the governor, and insisted Cuomo never made those remarks.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that reports about Cuomo's purported conversation were not surprising, and that the alleged bullying was "classic Andrew Cuomo."
"A lot of people in New York state have received those phone calls," he added. "I believe Ron Kim and it's very, very sad. No public servant, no person who is telling the truth, should be treated that way. The threats, the belittling, the demand that someone change their statement right that moment — many, many times I've heard that and I know a lot of other people in the state that have heard that."
In a statement posted to Twitter on Sunday, Nielsen wrote, "'You have a vendetta against him don't you!' That was the last time I allowed someone connected to Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration to harass and manipulate me. It was during one of the many accusatory and threatening phone calls I received by his staff members that I realized this behavior was never going to stop."
"It was shortly thereafter that I decided to leave my job at News10," she continued. "The late night phone calls from the administration, the constant threats to call my boss, the incessant bullying to try and get me to stop doing my job and reporting specific stories ... it would never end. The tactics used were deliberate yet evasive. They skimmed the line of inappropriateness ever so delicately as to make you feel like they were acceptable."
Nielsen concluded the post, "I am writing this today to make sure that those involved in this behavior back then now know that not only was it not acceptable but also that it was damaging. I applaud those who have come forward recently with reports of similar behavior by the same administration."
I have something to say today. https://t.co/qz0EkC5cD5— Lindsay Nielsen (@Lindsay Nielsen)1614551199.0
Nielsen told the New York Post that what she went through felt like "personal attacks" though she was simply trying to do her job as a journalist.
"It was very harassing," she added.
The Post reported, "Nielsen explained that when she'd reach out to Cuomo's office for comment on a story she often would not get a response — only to then get a barrage of phone calls demanding changes after it was published."
She told the outlet, "They would make it person, claiming I have this personal vendetta against the governor, which is absolutely bogus. I was doing my job as a journalist. All I was ever trying to do was report the story, report the facts."
Nielsen said that she decided to come forward with the accusations after other women stepped forward with what she said were similar stories.
"I don't want another reporter to have to go through that," she explained. "That's why I did it."
A Florida school district is investigating allegations that a teacher was watching pornography during a recent virtual learning session with his high school students.
According to the New York Post, Michael Braeseke — a social sciences teacher at South Broward High School — is facing the accusations after video of him sitting at a desk and looking down went viral.
In the video, Braeseke sits with what appears to be a faint smirk on his face while a woman can be heard in the background screaming "Oh my God" in apparent ecstasy.
A former student obtained the recording of the virtual class and shared it to social media, where it quickly went viral and caught the attention of the district.
The former student, Elijah Ruby, shared the video to Twitter writing, "South Broward high school teacher Mr. Micheal Braseke [sic] watches pornography in class. This teacher is a known pervert who has made inappropriate advances toward students in the past."
Tagging the school's principal, Patricia Brown, Ruby added, "How can you let this happen?"
Brown responded by writing, "As a survivor myself, I would never ignore concerns expressed. Social media is not the best medium to address issues of this importance. Please encourage others to email/call me. They ARE loved & valued!"
@elijahruby3 My student’s welfare is always of the utmost importance & always will be. As a survivor myself, I woul… https://t.co/B9gGiPdYAF— Principal Brown (@Principal Brown)1607998082.0
According to the Miami Herald, district officials launched a probe into the video on Tuesday.
A statement from Broward County Public Schools said, "Broward County Public Schools takes all matters and allegations involving the safety of students and staff very seriously. When school leaders were made aware of the alleged teacher misconduct during a virtual class, they took immediate action and began to look into allegations and follow proper protocols prior to social media posts. The incident and allegations were reported to the District's Special Investigative Unit to initiate an internal investigation. The District and school administration remain committed to the safety and emotional well-being of students."