| | | | | |  | | By Renuka Rayasam | | | | 
| With help from Myah Ward 'PART ALPHA, PART CREEPY UNCLE' — New York Democrats responded to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's attempt to wave away Attorney General Tish James' damning report today with a plan to move forward with impeachment. If you didn't get to all 168 pages, here are some highlights. The report says Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women in violation of state and federal law. President Joe Biden said Cuomo should resign. Nightly talked to Albany-based New York Playbook writer Anna Gronewold over Slack today about the fallout from the report and Cuomo's political future. This conversation has been edited. Remember when Cuomo said he would finish his third term as governor unless "God strikes me dead"? What are the chances of him finishing out the term now? They're looking slimmer and slimmer by the minute. New and old calls for his resignation have filled up my inbox. Biden could be a deciding factor. How do you think the impeachment proceedings will shake out? This has only happened once before in New York history. And state law makes it a bit of a free for all . But, how soon could they do it? How soon would Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul take over? How soon would they kick him out of the mansion? As far as we know, he literally does not have another physical home. Could be days, weeks or months. How likely is it that Cuomo resigns? I think there is a possible scenario in which he sticks it out a little bit longer. He's prepared for this for months. He's laid the groundwork for his defense. But I think if it comes down to stepping down or being thrown out by a number of lawmakers who Cuomo has publicly held in disdain, he'd choose his own terms. And after today it looks like a hard sell to get a unified party backing him for a fourth term. What happens next? Tish James said she won't do anything more — her investigation is concluded. So any action to be taken against him would have to come from impeachment or a criminal indictment, which, if there were even grounds for it, would likely be further off. Local police and the Albany DA have the reports, but we don't have anything definitive from them at the moment. James said the allegations verified in the report — though gross and in violation of state and federal law — are civil, not criminal. You have interviewed Cuomo. Was his behavior common knowledge among reporters? In 2019 I spent quite a bit of time around him. My sense was always that he wanted to prove he had the power in the room. Whether that meant publicly berating a male staffer or grabbing the back or shoulder of a younger woman. I do think it was well known — and even regularly reported on — that his administration was a toxic place for both male and female staffers and that interactions with him could be uncomfortable. He had a national spotlight last year, and I think that invited closer scrutiny of the stories and also more clearly showed the discrepancy between a rather heroic public persona and the way he behaved in private. That was one of the factors that allowed individuals who might have otherwise brushed off the behavior to say, "Wait, this isn't OK even though it's been so normalized." Part alpha, party creepy uncle, but none of it OK for anyone, especially your boss, especially the governor of New York. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas for us at nightly@politico.com. Or contact tonight's author at rrayasam@politico.com and on Twitter at @RenuRayasam.
| | | | A message from AT&T: Accessible, affordable broadband helps communities reach their American Dream. That's why AT&T is making a $2 billion, 3-year commitment toward helping close the digital divide, so more low-income families have the ability to succeed. Find out how. | | | | | | — CDC announces new eviction ban, despite Supreme Court threat: The Biden administration today announced a new, targeted federal eviction ban to replace the one that expired over the weekend , setting up a potential clash with the Supreme Court. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's new ban will apply to "counties experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels" of Covid-19 and will last until Oct. 3, the agency said. — Polls close in Ohio congressional primaries: Results are coming in after voting ended at 7:30 p.m. in Ohio's elections in the 11th and 15th congressional districts. Follow the latest numbers at POLITICO's up-to-the-minute results page. — House Dem campaign chief warns the majority at risk without message reboot: During a closed-door lunch last week with some of his most vulnerable incumbents, House Democrats' campaign chief delivered a blunt warning: If the midterms were held now, they would lose the majority. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.) followed that bleak forecast, which was confirmed by multiple people familiar with the conversation, with new polling that showed Democrats falling behind Republicans by a half-dozen points on a generic ballot in battleground districts. Maloney advised the party to course-correct ahead of 2022 by doing more to promote Biden's agenda, which remains popular with swing voters. — DeSantis blames media for 'hysteria' over Covid surge: Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out at the media today, accusing news organizations of engaging in "hysteria" over the new surge in coronavirus infections . DeSantis claimed that the situation in Florida was not as bad as last year because the state had prioritized getting older residents vaccinated and the mortality rate in the state, primarily among senior citizens, has dropped. But Florida has become one of the worst states in the nation for infections, with more than 11,500 hospitalizations reported today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. — Pentagon lockdown lifted after suspect shot by police near Metro bus platform: The Pentagon reopened this afternoon, roughly an hour and a half after the building was placed on lockdown following a "shooting event" near the Metro bus platform. Pentagon Police Chief Woodrow Kusse told reporters that a police officer was attacked on the Pentagon Metro bus platform this morning. Gunfire was exchanged and there were "several casualties," he said. — 'I'm back': Blago sues Illinois for right to run again: Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich sued his home state Monday for booting him from the governor's seat after his 2008 arrest for corruption and stripping him of his right to run for elective office in Illinois. Before filing the lawsuit, an unapologetic Blagojevich addressed reporters outside the same federal courthouse in Chicago where he was convicted, declaring: "I'm back." He said he hasn't decided, however, if he will seek to run for anything if he succeeds in eliminating the legal hurdles to doing so.
| | | | STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president's ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today. | | | | | | | | COVID COURT IS BACK IN SESSION — With the Delta variant on the loose, Covid cases on the rise, more reports of breakthrough infections and vaccinations stalling, things are as confusing as ever. So Judge Renu is back in session to help answer your questions about navigating this stage of the pandemic. Do you have an unresolved disagreement over Covid risk management with a relative or colleague? Or do you have questions about the virus or vaccine that haven't been answered? Ask Renu to issue a ruling! Email your pandemic disputes to nightly@politico.com.
| | | WHY FULL VAX APPROVAL TAKES SO LONG — The seven-day average for new reported Covid vaccine doses is up nationwide at more than 670,000, a 14.5 percent increase from this time last week, according to the New York Times Covid tracker. For the past few weeks, states with the highest case numbers have seen the highest vaccination rates, according to the White House. In Mississippi, one of the least vaccinated states in the U.S., the seven-day average for first doses was 5,203 at the end of July — more than tripling early July figures. The same pattern is being seen in states like Louisiana and Missouri where Delta is feeding new Covid surges. The rising dose numbers are far from the April peak of more than 3 million daily shots, but the nationwide uptick is encouraging after months of a vaccine lull. And it's happening despite the fact that the vaccines have yet to receive full FDA approval — one factor some unvaccinated Americans have cited as reasoning for refusing the shots. Experts and lawmakers have pressed the FDA to fully approve the vaccines in the U.S., with hopes that the new label will push even more unvaccinated people to roll up their sleeves. Biden has repeatedly said he expects full approval "soon," and that we could see this happen for Pfizer's two-dose regimen as early as the end of the month. To get full approval, the companies — Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson — must go through a process that's similar to the one they went through for emergency use authorization. Full approval just means a lot more data, Anand Parekh, the chief medical adviser at the Bipartisan Policy Institute, told Nightly's Myah Ward. The vaccines were administered to tens of thousands of people in clinical trials before being authorized for emergency use. Experts calling for approval have noted that the vaccines have been given to more than 347 million people in the U.S. alone with little problems. Still, the companies aren't closely monitoring every American who's received a shot. The companies keep tabs on their clinical trial participants and need at least six months of follow-up data for the candidates they've been monitoring since last year. Along with all the data the FDA has to comb through, the agency has to review detailed descriptions of a company's manufacturing process and inspect its facilities. "We think this should be easy. We think this should be a sort of snap of the fingers," Parekh said. "But it's really important that we trust the process, and follow the science." We are getting close. Pfizer submitted its full approval package on May 7. Moderna began a rolling application in June, which allows the company to submit piece by piece for review, instead of the final product all at once. Johnson & Johnson plans to file for full approval later this year. In Pfizer's case, the FDA granted the company priority review on July 16, meaning the vaccine could see full approval within six months. And officials told STAT news this week that the FDA plans to accelerate the already fast-tracked review by putting aside other tasks like meetings with drug sponsors and plant inspections. It's unclear how big a difference full approval will make, with unvaccinated people citing concerns about side effects or not trusting the government among many reasons for avoiding the shots. But even a small, short-term effect could be important, Parekh said. Though there's a lot of chatter about the FDA dragging its feet, what we're seeing with Covid vaccines is still fast by historical standards, Parekh said. Full approval typically takes a year, and the quickest approval Parekh has seen was a little more than three months — a timeline Pfizer may still meet, if its vaccine is approved this month.
| | | | A message from AT&T:   | | | | | | BRUSSELS HEADS TO TEHRAN — The EU confirmed the participation of a senior official in the inauguration of the ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi as Iranian president, a move that has created new tensions with Israel. Enrique Mora, deputy secretary-general of the European External Action Service, the bloc's diplomatic body, "will attend the inauguration on behalf of [EU top diplomat Josep Borrell]," said EEAS spokesperson Nabila Massrali. "It is crucial to engage diplomatically with the new administration and to pass directly important messages." Borrell is the coordinator of the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which curbed Tehran's nuclear ambitions in exchange for sanctions relief. The deal has been on life support since former President Donald Trump pulled out in 2018. As coordinator of the deal, Borrell's "key priority is to resume negotiations … and to facilitate the way back to full JCPOA implementation," Massrali said. Mora is the EU official overseeing the negotiations on a day-to-day basis.
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Local residents watch a wildfire in Athens. | Milos Bicanski/Getty Images | | | | GENSLER WANTS A BIT(COIN) MORE POWER — Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler urged lawmakers today to give him more power to fight fraud, scams and abuse in the cryptocurrency market , in a speech that prompted backlash from major industry groups. Gensler said in prepared remarks to the Aspen Security Forum that the SEC "will continue to take our authorities as far as they go," but that congressional action is needed to close regulatory gaps. He said legislators should focus on cryptocurrency trading, lending and decentralized finance platforms, which mimic the functions of traditional exchanges and banks but operate autonomously and automatically across computer networks. "Right now, we just don't have enough investor protection in crypto," Gensler said. "Frankly, at this time, it's more like the Wild West." He also suggested that most exchanges handling large numbers of digital tokens are likely to be dealing in securities, and so should be required to register with the SEC. Regulators are struggling to police the booming market for Bitcoin and other digital currencies that reached a value of $2 trillion this year. Gensler — a veteran regulator best known for taking on big banks after the 2008 financial crisis — wants to ensure that the SEC is at the forefront of any new oversight regime.
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