New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks during the daily press conference at the New York State Governor’s Office on June 12, 2020 in New York City.
Jeenah Moon | fake pictures
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo threatened to sue the Trump administration for damages for banning state residents from the Department of Homeland Security’s Trusted Travelers Program, saying the agency “abused government resources to promoting political purposes. “
Cuomo charged two DHS officials, Acting Secretary Chad Wolf and Acting Assistant Secretary Ken Cuccinelli, with potential criminal liability.
“I think Wolf and Cuccinelli have possible criminal liability. I think there is civil liability. It was a clear abuse of government power for political purposes,” he said at a press conference in Albany on Friday.
Cuomo asked the United States Attorney General, William Barr, to start an investigation. He said the state will also seek possible civil damages from DHS.
“The Justice Department should investigate … I think Congress should investigate because they lied and caused a lot of damage,” said Cuomo.
He said the state is trying to quantify the monetary damages. The ban supported truck and air cargo deliveries at the New York borders for six months, which cost the Port Authority more money to manage the airports, he said. It also brought people together in long lines waiting to be screened at airports at a crucial time when Covid-19 was just beginning to circulate in the United States “How do you quantify that?” I ask.
DHS and Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security said it would lift the ban on the program, which allows for faster entry into airports for U.S. citizens returning to the country, after the state agreed to share DMV records with immigration agencies. for those applying for the TSA Preflight and another Trusted Traveler program.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York told US District Judge Jesse Furman in a letter Thursday that DHS was withdrawing its opposition to New York’s previously announced lawsuit over the program, admitting that the agency had made “inaccurate or misleading” statements.
“The defendants deeply regret the previous inaccurate or misleading statements and apologize to the court and the plaintiffs for the need to make these corrections at this late stage of the litigation,” said Audrey Strauss, the United States Acting Prosecutor in Manhattan. .
The United States offers several trusted traveler programs that allow faster entry for US citizens returning to the country. They include Global Entry, which for a $ 100 fee and a background check, allow Air travelers re-enter the U.S. faster, and also another program dedicated to commercial truck drivers crossing the border back to the U.S.
DHS “made a surprising revelation yesterday afternoon. New York State was not the only state that had a Green Light law, and because there were other states that also had a Green Light law, there was nothing unique in New York. York to justify its punitive action against New York, “Cuomo said at a press conference.
CNBC’s Amanda Macias and Leslie Josephs contributed to this article.
This is a developing story. Please come back later for updates.
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