New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to help families sue Trump over Hurricane Maria response

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to help families sue Trump over Hurricane Maria response

By Peter Martinez CBS News
September 2, 2018, 10:23 PM

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo told a congregation Sunday that he would help families sue President Trump and his administration for failing to provide adequate assistance to those affected by Hurricane Maria.

Cuomo said the Trump administration violated Puerto Ricans' Constitutional rights of equal protection under the law.

He said that New York stands committed to helping victims of Puerto Rico rebuild after the deadly storm walloped the island in September 2017.

"President Trump never tried to help Puerto Rico. Florida got attention, Texas got attention, and Puerto Rico got the short end of the stick. That is not just wrong and unethical and despicable, it is also illegal," Cuomo said Sunday at the Heavenly Vision Christian Center in the Bronx, New York.

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Cuomo's press statement laid out five disparities between the federal government's response to and treatment of citizens in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, which primarily struck Texas, and Hurricane Maria -- which devastated the Puerto Rican island:

A three week wait
Lack of funding
Lack of food and water
Sparse resources
Unacceptable relief

"We're going to hold 'King' Trump to the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution said equal protection under the law. Puerto Rico did not receive equal protection under the law," Cuomo said. "New York is standing with Puerto Rico the way we said we would. We are going to fight back and we're going to show this president that the law is the law."

There were no immediate details released about Cuomo's plan nor did he take any questions at Sunday's event.

Cuomo, who is a seeking a third term as governor, also took swipes at Mr. Trump's border wall and how the president reacted to the aftermath of a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, last year.

"Somebody has to stand up to this president. He is a bully," Cuomo said.

Cuomo's speech Sunday comes on the heels of a report out last week that said Hurricane Maria is now considered the most deadly U.S. natural disaster in the last century. Puerto Rico's government requested an independent review by George Washington University, which found Maria killed an estimated 2,975 people – more than 46 times the original official death toll of 64.

For months, there's been speculation the death toll was much higher than what the government was reporting. San Juan's mayor, Carmen Cruz, called the new report "painful and shameful," and told CBS News' David Begnaud the governor should take more responsibility.

"When I saw people dying I opted to shout it. I opted to ask for help. When others saw people dying they opted to shut up," Cruz said.

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló acknowledged Tuesday that he made mistakes.

"The focus shouldn't be, you know, hey, let's blame all these folks. The focus should be who's going to be accountable and who's going to take the action so this doesn't happen again," Rosselló said.

Researchers found the government and hospitals were inadequately prepared for the Category 4 storm. They also found the risk of death was 45 percent higher for those living in low-income areas on the island, and elderly men were at the greatest risk of dying.

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/new-yor...ay-2018-09-02/

The difference in Texas and Florida compared to Puerto Rico is Texans and Floridians helped each other. That didn't happen in Puerto Rico, the people who had everything and weren't as impacted in San Juan, did nothing to help the other people trapped out in the rural areas. The Virgin Islands for example that was hit as hard or harder than Puerto Rico operated like Texas and Florida and helped themselves, they also had an excellent local government response, whereas Puerto Rico, didn't.

Hold the Mayor and Governor of Puerto Rico accountable you fool.

Their Union would not let their drivers drive the trucks to get the aid out. Containers FULL of rotting food. OUR truck drivers volunteered to go drive the trucks, the National Guard had to drive the trucks! They turned away the Red Cross ship. Many ships could NOT dock...there was no room.

This guy is a complete, unhinged, idiot! We are not going to rebuild that entire Island! They need to get investors.

Texas, Florida helped EACH other! They cleared the roads to get the trucks in.

Let's compare the success of the United States to Africa. Why is Africa still a 3rd world cesspool?


IT'S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE, WORK ETHIC AND WILLINGNESS TO PITCH IN GET THE WORK DONE!

THEY SAT ON THEIR PORCHES WAITING FOR SOMEONE ELSE TO DO IT FOR THEM!

THESE HOUSES WERE BUILT WITH NO PERMITS, THEY HAD NO INSURANCE! THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM WAS ALREADY FALLING APART SO WERE THE ROADS!

NOT EVERYBODY GETS A FREE BRAND NEW HOME, A CAR AND A PUPPY!

THEY WERE GIVEN PLENTY OF FUNDS AND SUPPLIES...THEIR CORRUPT OFFICIALS MISUSED THOSE FUNDS AND SUPPLIES!

He's no Mario, that's for sure. Something went wrong with Andrew, something really wrong. He's just plain stupid. How does someone this stupid become Governor? The reputation of Mario, so many people think it runs in the family, sometimes it does, but often it doesn't. In this case, it definitely didn't.

I also think it's funny he would announce his plans to sue FEMA over Puerto Rico on Labor Day. One of the major problems in Puerto Rico was the refusal of truck drivers to show up to haul the many supplies the US sent there because they were demanding gougers wages. They were like "on strike" during a Hurricane while people were starving and thirty and needed help, they're demanding gougers wages (illegal in US) and refusing to deliver the life-saving supplies.