00:02:14.880Well, a lot of people don't know what happened yesterday because when we switched over to our after party, you had a nice little message from Elon Musk.
00:02:48.180So if you change your name, they take your blue check just temporarily for a week to check it out and make sure you're not trying to, like, you know.
00:09:45.220That's what no one really understands is that in a communist country, it's not like the United States where you're just free to roam and to do as you please.
00:09:55.300No, they are absolutely being sent on purpose.
00:21:09.280So you've got Letitia James, who is threatening to seize President Trump's assets if he can't pay the outrageous court fine ordered by Judge Ngoron in the New York civil fraud case.
00:21:23.360And a lot of people were calling the shots on this one, saying that that was what they were going to do.
00:21:27.340They were going to start leaning his buildings and everything else.
00:22:39.200Before the 2016 election, Trump had pleaded not guilty to the charges brought by the far-left Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
00:22:48.760You have Judge Merchant, who sent President Trump's former 75-year-old CFO to prison for five months.
00:22:56.060Last year, made up the tax fraud scheme targeting President Trump and his family and his associates.
00:23:03.940This is one of the latest cases against Trump by New York Democrats who are hoping their lawfare cases will keep him off the ballot and out of the White House.
00:23:13.100So you've got the screenshots of the political contributions of Juan Merchant and where all this money is coming from.
00:23:23.880Massive conflict of interest with Alvin Bragg's judge.
00:23:28.580Judge Merchant did not just contribute to Democrats.
00:35:15.240And he's saying there's no connections there.
00:35:17.220But they are definitely going to investigate, as they should.
00:35:21.120So, you've got the $53 million contract would give Mobility Capital Finance, who the New York mayor touts as minority-owned, lots of fees for services, including, get this, $125,000 one-time setup fee.
00:35:38.740$250,000 in annual management fees, $1.5 million for the first $50 million handout, $2.5 million for the next $100 million.
00:35:53.360No ID check required, no fraud control, and no restrictions.
00:36:17.140So, you've got council member Gail Brewer.
00:36:20.300She wants to investigate the mayor's connection to the firm and why the city issued a $53 million no-bid contract without seeing if it could get a better deal.
00:36:30.380According to the contract, the most a card can have is $10,000.
00:36:34.940But cards will be refilled every four weeks.
00:36:40.980$10,000 a month is what we're talking about here.
00:37:05.620There are questions tonight about a controversial program launched by the Adams administration to give migrant families prepaid debit cards to buy food and other things they need.
00:37:16.260CBS 2's political reporter Marsha Kramer is here to sort it all out.
00:37:19.580Well, Dick and Dana, Mayor Adams says giving asylum seekers debit cards to buy their own food will save the city millions.
00:37:26.820But the head of the city council's oversight and investigations committee wants to know why the city issued a $53 million no-bid contract without seeing if it could get a better deal.
00:37:37.860I think you should bid it out to see who would do the best job at the best cost for taxpayers.
00:37:44.620Council member Gail Brewer says she wants to investigate a pilot program launched by Mayor Adams to give asylum seekers prepaid debit cards that will allow them to buy food, baby products, and other necessities at supermarkets, bodegas, groceries, and convenience stores.
00:38:00.200The $53 million contract reviewed by CBS 2 gives the firm Mobility Capital Finance lots of fees for services, including a $125,000 one-time setup fee, $250,000 in annual management fees, and fees based on how much money is distributed to migrants, $1.5 million for the first $50 million handed out, $2.5 million for the next $100 million.
00:38:25.140The pilot program will involve 500 families staying in short-term hotels like the Rowe and the Watson.
00:38:31.680According to the contract, the most a card can have is $10,000, but most cards will be refilled every four weeks.
00:38:38.820A family of four can get about $1,000, $35 a day, and they can buy whatever food they want to eat.
00:38:45.480I don't know exactly how it's going to work.
00:38:50.700In other words, I do say from the release that it would be for diapers and baby products and food, but, you know, you have to be careful that that's what it's actually going to be for.
00:39:00.700Mayor Adams insists it's an innovative way to save money and prevent food waste because many asylum seekers don't eat the food they were given in the hotels and shelters.
00:39:09.700He said if the pilot program is successful, it is going to save us an area of $7.2 million a year, I believe $600,000 a month.
00:39:21.600Were there other people that could have provided the same service for last month?
00:39:28.860The mayor insists that part of the allure of the company is that it was a minority-owned firm.
00:39:33.920Now, the mayor, who has a penchant for surrounding himself with friends and acquaintances, insisted he had no personal relationship with the owner of the company.
00:39:53.320He said, and I quote, we don't hang out in the Hamptons together or go to baseball games together.
00:55:31.420Well, I mean, they get up there and they say the most ridiculous things that you've ever heard.
00:55:35.260I ran across this little number a little earlier this morning when Janet Yellen, she actually said funding teachers in Ukraine was a U.S. national security concern.
00:56:17.120Israel, the Biden administration has this $105 billion package on the table.
00:56:24.280What's the chance that it gets passed before the end of the year?
00:56:27.620Well, it's a critical priority for the president and critical to the national security of our country.
00:56:37.700I can't prognosticate about the timetable on this.
00:56:43.160I'm pleased that Congress has passed legislation to keep the government open and running.
00:56:49.060But it really is essential that this aid be provided both to Israel and to Ukraine.
00:56:56.620We can't allow Ukraine to lose a battle on the home front because it lacks enough money to keep schoolteachers in the classroom and first responders on the job when it's fighting valiantly.
01:04:29.660And I value the passion you have for our state.
01:04:32.980I'd love nothing more than to buy you a beer, a coffee, or lunch and pick your brain about how we can work together to strengthen our state.
01:04:41.640My team is sending you my contact info.
01:04:44.660If you're willing to meet, it would mean a lot to me.