Eric Schneiderman
Eric Schneiderman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 65th Attorney General of New York | |
In office January 1, 2011 – May 8, 2018 | |
| Governor | Andrew Cuomo |
| Preceded by | Andrew Cuomo |
| Succeeded by | Barbara Underwood |
| Member of the New York Senate from the 31st district | |
In office January 1, 2003 – December 31, 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Efrain Gonzalez |
| Succeeded by | Adriano Espaillat |
| Member of the New York Senate from the 30th district | |
In office January 1, 1999 – December 31, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Franz Leichter |
| Succeeded by | David Paterson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Eric Tradd Schneiderman (1954-12-31) December 31, 1954 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Jennifer Cunningham (divorced) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Amherst College (BA) Harvard University (JD) |
Eric Tradd Schneiderman (born December 31, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 65th Attorney General of New York from 2011 until his resignation in May 2018. Schneiderman, a member of the Democratic Party, previously served for ten years in the New York State Senate.
In May 2018, Schneiderman resigned his position as Attorney General after The New Yorker reported that four women––including three former romantic partners––had accused him of sexual and physical abuse.
Contents
1 Early life, education, and early career
1.1 Personal life
2 New York Senate
2.1 Elections
2.2 Tenure
3 Attorney General
3.1 Elections
3.2 Tenure
3.3 Allegations of abuse and resignation
4 Electoral history
5 References
6 External links
Early life, education, and early career
Schneiderman was born to a Jewish family[1] in New York City, the son of Abigail Heyward and Irwin Schneiderman, a lawyer.[2] He graduated from the Trinity School in New York City in 1972 and Amherst College in 1977. He received his J.D. degree from Harvard Law School in 1982.[3]
Schneiderman served as a judicial clerk for two years within the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and subsequently joined the international law firm Kirkpatrick and Lockhart LLP (now known as K&L Gates), where he became a partner.[4]
Personal life
Schneiderman married Jennifer Cunningham in 1990.[2] They later divorced. They have a daughter, Catherine.[5]
New York Senate
Schneiderman was elected to represent the 31st district in the New York State Senate. At the time, this district comprised Manhattan's Upper West Side, as well as Morningside Heights, West Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill, in addition to part of Riverdale, The Bronx.[6]
Elections
In the 1998 Democratic primary, Schneiderman, defeated Daniel O'Donnell, a civil rights attorney, with 68% of the vote.[7] In the general election, he defeated Vincent McGowen with 82% of the vote.[8] He won re-election in 2000 (84%),[9] in 2002 (87%),[10] 2004 (89%),[11] 2006 (92%),[12] and 2008 (90%).[13]
Tenure
Schneiderman was the chief sponsor of the Rockefeller Drug Law reforms, which were passed and signed into law in 2009. The reforms included reducing reliance on long, mandatory minimum sentences, and allocating funds for alternatives to incarceration, focusing on treatment and reentry of prisoners into society.[14] His other legislative activities include passing ethics reforms [15][16] to root out fraud against taxpayers.
Attorney General
Elections
Then Attorney General Andrew Cuomo endorsing Schneiderman during the 2010 election.
Schneiderman was the Democratic Party nominee for New York Attorney General. He denied being involved in a hit-and-run automobile accident in July 2010.[17][18][19][20] He defeated Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice in the Democratic primary on September 14, 2010 .[21] Schneiderman defeated Republican nominee and Richmond County District Attorney Dan Donovan in the general election[22] and took office on January 1, 2011.
Schneiderman won re-election in 2014.[23] His major opponent was Republican John P. Cahill,[24] who had been an environmental conservation commissioner for the state.[25]
Tenure
In his first weeks in office, Schneiderman launched a plan to root out fraud and return money illegally stolen from New York taxpayers at no additional cost to the state. This initiative includes a new "Taxpayer Protection Unit" specifically designed to go after corruption in state contracts, pension fund rip-offs, and large-scale tax cheats. Schneiderman has also bolstered the Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit by cracking down on fraud in the Medicaid program.
Schneiderman was instrumental in pushing for a tougher fraud settlement with large banks over illegal foreclosure practices. Along with California Attorney General Kamala Harris, Schneiderman pushed to prevent the settlement from including immunity for the banks from further investigation and prosecution of other related illegal activities.[26]
New York, uniquely among the fifty states, did not sanction mixed martial arts (MMA) under a 1997 state law. This prompted Zuffa, LLC (the owner of the Ultimate Fighting Championship) to sue in federal court in 2015, challenging the constitutionality of the law and naming Schneiderman and Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. as defendants.[27][28] The following year, the New York State Legislature enacted a law legalizing MMA in the state.[29]
In August 2013, Schneiderman filed a $40 million civil lawsuit against Donald Trump for his "Trump University" (now known as Trump Entrepreneur Initiative), alleging it to be an "unlicensed university"[30] and calling it a "bait-and-switch scheme".[31] Trump denied all accusations, calling Schneiderman a "political hack".[32] In October 2014, a New York judge found Trump personally liable for the institution's not having the required license.[33]
In September 2013, Schneiderman announced a settlement with 19 companies to prevent astroturfing; i.e., buying fake online praise. "'Astroturfing' is the 21st century's version of false advertising, and prosecutors have many tools at their disposal to put an end to it," according to Schneiderman. The companies paid $350,000 to settle the matter, but the settlement opened the way for private suits as well. "Every state has some version of the statutes New York used,” according to lawyer Kelly H. Kolb. “What the New York attorney general has done is, perhaps, to have given private lawyers a road map to file suit.”[34][35]
In November 2015, Schneiderman issued cease-and-desist letters to daily fantasy sports companies DraftKings and FanDuel, accusing the companies of operating a gambling enterprise that is illegal under New York law.[36] This sparked a six-month-long legal battle.[37] Schneiderman reached a settlement with the companies in March 2016, under which DraftKings and FanDuel agreed to stop operating in New York until September 2016 and Schneiderman agreed to drop all of the state's suits against DraftKings and FanDuel—except for a false advertising claim against FanDuel—if the New York State Legislature passed legislation legalizing daily fantasy sports by the adjournment of the session.[38][39][40]
In its first year in office, the Trump administration sought to scrap numerous Obama-era environmental regulations which President Donald Trump had often referred to as an impediment to business.[41] Saying, "Over and over again, the Trump administration has put the profits of multinational polluters over the health and well-being of everyday Americans,” Schneiderman filed over 50 lawsuits opposing Trump's environmental revisions.[42]
In February 2018, Schneiderman brought a civil rights lawsuit against The Weinstein Company, alleging the company "repeatedly broke New York law by failing to protect its employees from pervasive sexual harassment, intimidation, and discrimination". The lawsuit delayed the sale of The Weinstein Company with the Attorney General adding, "Any sale of the Weinstein Company must ensure that victims will be compensated."[43][44]
Allegations of abuse and resignation
On May 7, 2018, Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow reported in The New Yorker that Schneiderman had physically abused at least four women during his tenure as Attorney General.[45] According to the report, Schneiderman had, between about 2013 and 2016, committed acts of violence against four women: the blogger and activist Michelle Manning Barish, the author and actress Tanya Selvaratnam, an unnamed female lawyer, and a fourth woman.[45] The women said that Schneiderman had repeatedly choked, hit or violently slapped them, all without their consent.[46] Selvaratnam added that Schneiderman spat on her, choked her, called her his "brown slave", ordered her to call him "Master" and say that she was "his property", and demanded that she find another woman who would be willing to engage in a 'ménage à trois'.[45] Mayer and Farrow reported that they confirmed the women's allegations with photographs of wounds and bruises, as well as with statements from friends in whom the women had confided after the assaults.[45]
In his initial response to the allegations, Schneiderman said: "In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in nonconsensual sex, which is a line I would not cross".[46] Three hours after the article was published in The New Yorker, Schneiderman announced his resignation effective the next day. In a statement, he said that he "strongly contested" the allegations, but resigned because they would "effectively prevent" him from performing the duties of his office.[47][48] He did not seek re-election.[49] Schneiderman's deputy, Solicitor General Barbara Underwood, assumed the position of Acting Attorney General.
Governor Andrew Cuomo assigned Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas as a special prosecutor to investigate possible criminal charges against Schneiderman.[50][51][52] On November 8, 2018, Singas announced that Schneiderman would not be prosecuted. Singas stated that she believed the allegations made by Schneiderman's accusers, but added that "legal impediments, including statutes of limitations, preclude[d] criminal prosecution". In response, Schneiderman stated, "I recognize that District Attorney Singas’ decision not to prosecute does not mean I have done nothing wrong. I accept full responsibility for my conduct in my relationships with my accusers, and for the impact it had on them." Schneiderman further stated that he was "committed to a lifelong path of recovery and making amends" and apologized for the pain he had caused.[53]
Electoral history
| New York State Senate 30th district election, 1998 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Eric Schneiderman | 65,158 | 81.98 |
| Republican* | Vincent McGowan | 10,919 | 13.74 |
| Green | Julia Willebrand | 1,979 | 2.49 |
| Conservative* | David Branche | 1,421 | 1.79 |
*McGowan was also listed on the Liberal Party line; Brance was also listed on the Right to Life Party line.
| New York State Senate 30th district election, 2000 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic* | Eric Schneiderman (inc.) | 90,587 | 84.12 |
| Republican* | Roger Madon | 14,516 | 13.48 |
| Liberal | Marc Stadtmauer | 1,904 | 1.77 |
| Conservative | Paul Gallant Jr. | 680 | 0.63 |
*Schneiderman was also listed on the Working Families Party line; Madon was also listed on the Independence Party line.
| New York State Senate 31st district election, 2002 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic* | Eric Schneiderman (inc.) | 40,900 | 86.52 |
| Republican | Bienvenido Toribio Jr. | 5,843 | 12.36 |
| Conservative | Michael Walters | 528 | 1.12 |
*Schneiderman was also listed on the Working Families Party line.
| New York State Senate 31st district election, 2004 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic* | Eric Schneiderman (inc.) | 76,365 | 89.17 |
| Republican | Jose Goris | 9,272 | 10.83 |
*Schneiderman was also listed on the Working Families Party line.
| New York State Senate 31st district election, 2006 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic* | Eric Schneiderman (inc.) | 51,202 | 92.30 |
| Republican | Stylo Sapaskis | 4,270 | 7.70 |
*Schneiderman was also listed on the Working Families Party line.
| New York State Senate 31st district election, 2008 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic* | Eric Schneiderman (inc.) | 80,832 | 89.97 |
| Republican | Martin Chicon | 8,349 | 9.29 |
| Conservative | Stephen Bradian | 662 | 0.74 |
*Schneiderman was also listed on the Working Families Party line.
| New York Attorney General Democratic primary election, 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic | Eric Schneiderman | 227,203 | 34.36 |
| Democratic | Kathleen Rice | 210,726 | 31.87 |
| Democratic | Sean Coffey | 108,185 | 16.36 |
| Democratic | Richard Brodsky | 65,683 | 9.93 |
| Democratic | Eric Dinallo | 49,499 | 7.49 |
| New York Attorney General election, 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic* | Eric Schneiderman | 2,477,438 | 55.78 |
| Republican* | Dan Donovan | 1,909,525 | 42.99 |
| Libertarian | Carl Person | 36,488 | 0.82 |
| Freedom | Ramon Jimenez | 18,028 | 0.41 |
*Schneiderman was also listed on the Independence Party and Working Families Party line; Donovan was also listed on the Conservative Party line.
| New York Attorney General election, 2014 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| Democratic* | Eric Schneiderman (inc.) | 2,069,956 | 55.73 |
| Republican* | John Cahill | 1,538,990 | 41.43 |
| Green | Ramon Jimenez | 80,813 | 2.18 |
| Libertarian | Carl Person | 24,746 | 0.67 |
*Schneiderman was also listed on the Independence Party, Working Families Party, and Women's Equality Party lines; Cahill was also listed on the Conservative Party and Stop Common Core Party lines.
References
^ Times of Israel: "NY state attorney says he was target of anti-Semitic Trump supporters" August 27, 2016.
^ ab "Jennifer Cunningham Weds Eric Schneiderman". NYTimes.com. October 8, 1990. Retrieved August 28, 2016..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "Retrieved August 31, 2011". Archived from the original on September 2, 2011.
^ Jimmy Vielkind (October 21, 2009). "The Patience of Schneiderman". Observer. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
^ [1]
^ "ERIC T. SCHNEIDERMAN (FORMER) (D, WF) 31ST SENATE DISTRICT". NY Senate. Retrieved June 3, 2014.
^ "NY State Senate 30 - D Primary Race - Sep 15, 1998". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
^ "NY State Senate 30 Race - Nov 03, 1998". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
^ "NY State Senate 30 Race - Nov 07, 2000". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
^ "NY State Senate 31 Race - Nov 05, 2002". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
^ "NY State Senate 31 Race - Nov 02, 2004". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
^ "NY State Senate 31 Race - Nov 07, 2006". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
^ "NY State Senate 31 Race - Nov 04, 2008". Our Campaigns. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
^ "New York Passes Rockefeller Drug Law Reform". Legal Action Center. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
^ John Berry / The Post-Standard, 2009. "NY hopes incentive will help blow the whistle on tax cheats". syracuse.com. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
^ Breidenbach, Michelle. "NY hopes incentive will help blow the whistle on tax cheats". Syracuse Post-Standard. Retrieved January 9, 2011.
^ ANAHAD O’CONNOR (13 July 2010). "Senator Riding in Car During What Witnesses Call Hit-Run". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 May 2018.A state senator running for New York attorney general was a passenger in a car involved Monday night in what witnesses called a hit-and-run accident. The senator, Eric T. Schneiderman, who represents parts of Manhattan and the Bronx, was leaving the NY1 studio in Chelsea after taping an interview when his driver hit a parked minivan and left the scene.
^ "NY AG Candidate Involved in What Witnesses Call Hit-and-Run". NBC New York WNBC. 14 July 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2018.An eyewitness saw the incident and recorded Schneiderman's license plate number, which the car owned traced and called police.
^ GLENN BLAIN; KENNETH LOVETT (14 July 2010). "Attorney General candidate Eric Schneiderman involved in 'hit-&-run' with Elena Kagan's niece". New York Daily News. Retrieved 15 May 2018."He has spoken with the owner of the other vehicle, expressed his sincere apology and offered to pay for all repairs," Freedland said.
^ Erik Engquist (14 May 2018). "Unanswered questions in the Schneiderman scandal". Crain's New York Business - Crain Communications. Retrieved 15 May 2018.Some years ago he was involved in a hit-and-run, for which he blamed a staff member—a claim that seems dubious now
^ Basil Katz, "Schneiderman wins primary for NY attorney general". Reuters, September 15, 2010.
^ https://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/schneiderman-defeats-donovan-in-ag-race-1.2422391
^ https://www.longislandpress.com/2014/11/05/ny-attorney-general-eric-schneiderman-wins-second-term/
^ https://www.longislandpress.com/2014/11/05/ny-attorney-general-eric-schneiderman-wins-second-term/
^ https://buffalonews.com/2018/05/16/schneidermans-exit-creates-new-dynamic-in-state-politics/
^ Gormley, Michael (February 3, 2012). "NY's Schneiderman Sues Banks in Foreclosure Effort". Associated Press. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
^ Joseph Ax, [Mixed martial arts promotion sues New York State over ban], Reuters (September 28, 2015).
^ Ben Popper, UFC Sues New York: Fighters Have First Amendment Right to Mixed Martial "Arts", New York Observer (November 15, 2011).
^ Laura Wagner, New York Legalizes Professional Mixed Martial Arts Fights, NPR.org, (April 15, 2016).
^ Peralta, Eyder. "New York A.G. Sues Donald Trump Over 'Unlicensed' University". NPR. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
^ Pagliery, Jose. "Trump defends his school, prosecutor calls it 'a scam'". CNN Money. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
^ Gormley, Michael. "Trump Calls NY Attorney General a 'Political Hack'". ABC News. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
^ Karen Freifeld (October 16, 2014). "New York judge finds Donald Trump liable for unlicensed school". Reuters. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
^ Brush, Pete (September 23, 2013). "NY 'Astroturfing' Cases Mark Fertile Ground For Civil Suits". Law360. LexisNexis. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
^ "A.G. Schneiderman Announces Agreement With 19 Companies To Stop Writing Fake Online Reviews And Pay More Than $350,000 In Fines". New York State Office of the Attorney General. State of New York. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
^ "A.G. Schneiderman Issues Cease-And-Desist Letters to FanDuel And DraftKings, Demanding That Companies Stop Accepting Illegal Wagers in New York State". Ag.ny.gov. November 11, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2016.
^ What the suspension of DraftKings, FanDuel in N.Y. means for DFS, Sports Illustrated (March 21, 2016).
^ Chris Grove, FanDuel, DraftKings Reach Settlement With New York Attorney General, Legal Sports Report (March 21, 2016).
^ Glenn Blain, FanDuel and DraftKings suspended in New York until Legislature comes up with new regulations, New York Daily News (March 21, 2016).
^ Statement From A.G. Schneiderman On Agreements With FanDuel and DraftKings, Office of the New York State Attorney General.
^ Popovich, Nadja; Albeck-Ripka, Livia. "52 Environmental Rules on the Way Out Under Trump". New York Times. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
^ Milman, Oliver. "'Sloppy and careless': courts call out Trump blitzkrieg on environmental rules". The Guardian. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
^ Barnes, Brooks and William Neuman Weinstein Company Sale Delayed by N.Y. Attorney General Lawsuit. New York Times. February 11, 2018.
^ Feely, Jef, Anousha Sakoui, and Patricia Hurtado. Weinstein Co. Purchase Offer Deemed Unacceptable by New York AG. Bloomberg. February 11, 2018.
^ abcd Mayer, Jane; Farrow, Ronan (May 7, 2018). "Four Women Accuse New York's Attorney General of Physical Abuse". New Yorker.
^ ab Hakim, Danny; Wang, Vivian (May 7, 2018). "Eric Schneiderman, New York's Attorney General, Resigns Amid Assault Accusations". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
^ "Statement By Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman | New York State Attorney General". ag.ny.gov. May 7, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2018.
^ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44035718
^ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/nyregion/eric-schneiderman-abuse-charges.html
^ "New York Today: The Latest on Eric Schneiderman". The New York Times. May 9, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
^ Ransom, Jan (13 May 2018). "Prosecutor Brings Experience to Schneiderman Inquiry". New York Times. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
^ Vilensky, Mike (2018-05-08). "New York Attorney General Schneiderman Resigns After Abuse Allegations". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-09-24.
^ Campbell, Jon (November 8, 2018). "Ex-AG Eric Schneiderman won't face criminal charges for alleged abuse". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
External links
- Official NY Attorney General Website
Eric Schneiderman for Attorney General Official campaign website
Eric Tradd Schneiderman listing from New York State Unified Court System
New York State Senate | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Franz Leichter | Member of the New York Senate from the 30th district 1999–2002 | Succeeded by David Paterson |
| Preceded by Efrain Gonzalez | Member of the New York Senate from the 31st district 2003–2010 | Succeeded by Adriano Espaillat |
| Preceded by Dale Volker | Chair of the New York Senate Codes Committee 2009–2010 | Succeeded by Stephen Saland |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Andrew Cuomo | Democratic nominee for Attorney General of New York 2010, 2014 | Succeeded by Letitia James |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by Andrew Cuomo | Attorney General of New York 2011–2018 | Succeeded by Barbara Underwood Acting |
Authority control  |
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