*By Alisha Haridasani*
It was perhaps the speediest resignation of a public official accused of misconduct since the start of the #MeToo movement. Only hours after The New Yorker magazine published an article in which four women accused him of physical abuse, Eric Schneiderman resigned as New York State attorney general.
Two of the women, Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam, told [The New Yorker](https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/four-women-accuse-new-yorks-attorney-general-of-physical-abuse) that while they were in a relationship with Schneiderman, he hit them without their consent and threatened to kill them if they broke up with him. Two other women, who wanted to remain anonymous in the article, said similar things.
After the article was published, but before he resigned, Schneiderman denied the allegations.
He said in a statement: “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.”
The response to the allegations in the article ー especially among other Democratic state officials ー was swift: Gov. Andrew Cuomo and U.S. Sen. Kristin Gillibrand called on Schneiderman to resign.
“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 crucial time,” Schneiderman, 63, said in an [official statement](https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/statement-attorney-general-eric-t-schneiderman).
As New York’s top law enforcement officer, Schneiderman played a prominent role in the #MeToo movement by pursuing accusations against other men accused of inappropriate and possibly illegal behavior. He [filed a lawsuit](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/11/business/media/harvey-weinstein-company-sale.html) earlier this year against the company run by the former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein for gender discrimination and sexual harassment. He had described Weinstein’s alleged behavior as “despicable.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office said it opened an investigation into the allegations against Schneiderman, and a joint session of the State Assembly and Senate will select his replacement as attorney general.
Ursula Perano, politics reporter at the Daily Beast, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the wave of 30 House Democrats retiring or not seeking re-election in November.
Jimmy Hoover, Supreme Court editor-at-large for Law360, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss the high court's latest ruling in an Alabama gerrymandering case that could end up further chipping away at the Voting Rights Act.
GLAAD, the media watchdog for the LGBTQ community, released its “Where We Are on TV” report last week, with updated data on the entertainment industry. Rich Ferraro, chief communications officer for the non-profit organization, joined Cheddar News to talk about the progress that has been made on media representation and what's at stake in the process of humanizing queer people in popular culture as a recent backlash in legislative trends demonstrated. "We just saw the news yesterday in Texas, a move from Governor Abbott that would try to pull trans youth away from their parents for receiving gender-affirming care," Ferraro said. "And television and entertainment can be a frontline to preventing such anti-LGBTQ legislation from moving forward."
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has begun. Explosions and sirens were reported across the country early Thursday morning, as Russia launched a wide-ranging attack with shelling, tanks, and missile strikes. Lauren Baer, former State Department Senior Adviser and current Managing Partner at Arena, joined Cheddar to provide the latest update on the crisis.
A six-year battle over equal pay has finally come to an end-- as U.S. Soccer and The United States Women's Soccer Team have agreed to settle their lawsuit. Under the terms of the deal, the athletes will receive $24 million from U.S. Soccer, and a pledge from the federation to equalize pay for the men's and women's national teams. Lily Roberts, Managing Director of the Poverty to Prosperity Team at the Center for American Progress joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden has hit back against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, unleashing robust new sanctions, ordering the deployment of thousands of additional troops to NATO ally Germany, and declaring that America will stand up to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Grant Stark, Director of Research at CapWealth, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says that his firm is closely monitoring oil prices amid the geopolitical conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and elaborates on how inflation will continue to be a problem across multiple sectors.
A private prison company plans to run a new pilot program that would place hundreds of migrants caught crossing the U.S.-Mexico border under house arrest. The "home curfew" pilot program is part of "impactful detention reforms," according to a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Jacinta Gonzalez, senior campaign organizer with Mijente, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
