Relatives of four men jailed on terrorism charges in newburgh new york have accused the fbi of entrapment. On thursday, a federal judge agreed and ordered the release of three of the men. In a stunning decision, the judge accused the fbi of inventing a conspiracy. We will speak to two attorneys who have spent over a decade trying to win freedom for the newburgh four. Then a former obgyn at Columbia University, Robert Hadden, has been sentenced to 20 years in a federal prison. He is accused of sexually assaulting hundreds of patients during examinations over two decades. We will speak to two survivors and look at why columbia ignored haddens behavior for so long. I was the first person to speak up about being sexually assaulted by Robert Hadden including when i was pregnant with my twin daughters. I was fortunate to be in Court Last Week to watch the sentencing in his federal trial. It is certainly a milestone in what has been a many years long quest for justice. Amy all that and more, coming up. Welcome to democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. In pakistan, at least 54 people were killed and 200 injured sunday as explosions rocked a political rally in the northwestern bajaur district which borders afghanistan. The deadly blast was detonated by a suicide bomber during a gathering of the conservative jamiat ulema ismal fazl party, a member of Prime MinisterShehbaz Sharifs coalition, amid mounting insecurity ahead of elections planned for november. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack though police said the Islamic State group could be to blame. A number of children died in the attack. Russian said it downed three ukrainian drones over moscow sunday, two of which damaging a highrise building that may house government offices. Its the latest such attack the kremlin has blamed on kyiv. This is ukrainian president volodymyr zelensky. Gradually in the war is returning to the territory of russia, to its symbolic centers and military bases. This is a natural and absolutely fair process. Amy on saturday, a russian strike killed at least two people in the northeastern ukrainian city of sumy, and two people in zaporizhzhia. Meanwhile Deputy Security Council chair and former russian president Dmitry Medvedev said there would be no other option but to launch a Nuclear Attack if ukraine is successful in its natobacked counteroffensive. Elsewhere, poland sounded the alarm over wagner forces in belarus, which it says are moving closer to the polish border. Following the russiaafrica summit last week in saint petersburg, russian president Vladimir Putin said that a Peace Initiative presented by African Leaders could be the basis for ending the war if ukraine ceased its attacks. Meanwhile, the African Union said putins offer to supply some african countries with grain was not sufficient to guarantee a stable food supply. President putin said he was ready to help us with grain supplies. It is important but not enough. We need to achieve a ceasefire because it is always something unpredictable. The longer it is, the more unpredictable it becomes. Amy in chad, tens of thousands of refugees whove fled violence in sudan face another lethal threat, shortages of Running Water amid scorching temperatures. Sudanese refugees say the little water they have access to is needed for drinking, leaving little for toilets and sanitation. We wait for water for six hours and we spend the whole day here crowded. There is heat, hunger, thirst, and the water containers are limited. We have no mattresses or blankets or covers. We spend the day in the heat. When you come to get water, it is hot. When you sit in the tent, it is also hot. Amy as heatwaves envelop the globe, here in the u. S, the conference of mayors and the National League of cities are calling on congress to pass the extreme heat emergency act. The bill would add extreme heat and wildfire smoke events to a list of disasters that can unlock supplemental assistance from fema, the federal Emergency Management agency. On thursday, a youth activist confronted White House Press secretary Karine Jeanpierre over president bidens approval of new coal, oil, and gas projects. This is elise joshi, executive director of gen z for change,. Mill the administration stop approving new oil and gas projects and align with science and frontline communities from the north slope of alaska to louisiana . Amy Karine Jeanpierre then proceeded in a defense of the Biden Administration before being interrupted again by joshi. You have approved multiple projects since then and at a faster rate than at the dachshund and the trump administration. We need you to act on your campaign promises. Declare an emergency. Amy in british columbia, a third firefighter has died battling canadas worst wildfire season on record, which has scorched some 30 million acres, an area larger than the nation of cuba. Millions of canadians and more than 120 Million People across the United States have faced air quality alerts this summer due to smoke from the fires. In turkey, Security Forces have unleashed Water Cannons and tear gas on villagers and activists protecting the akbelen forest in the province of mugla from being cleared for coal mining. At least 14 people were arrested last week. Local communities and environmental groups have brought legal challenges, and put their own bodies on the lahaina, in an attempt to stop yk energys expansion of open pit mining in akbelen. An activist with the group beyond fossil fuels said, as tens of thousands of people across the Mediterranean Region flee rampaging wildfires caused by the climate crisis, it is incomprehensible that a company is allowed to destroy a forest one of our most important carbon sinks to expand a coal mine. The head of nigers president ial guard has declared himself the leader of a transitional government, following wednesdays coup detat which deposed the west african nations democraticallyelected president , mohamed bazoum. On friday, general abdourahaman tchiani said on staterun television the coup was necessary to prevent the gradual and inevitable demise of niger. Over the weekend, a block of 15 west african nations slapped sanctions on leaders of the coup and threatened to expel them by force unless the cede power within a week. On sunday, thousands of supporters of the junta attempted to storm the French Embassy in the capital niamey, burning french flags and chanting slogans against nigers former colonial ruler. They were turned away by soldiers firing tear gas. Many are rejecting the interference of foreign actors following the coup. The International Community that says it is here for us, we dont want it. It is no longer credible in the eyes of africans. We cannot understand why the support of coup detat in chad but oppose them in other places. It is an internal problem that only concerns nigerians. We dont want their moral lessons. Amy in ken yeah, the president and Opposition Group agreed to form a joint committee to resolve their differences following deadly protests earlier this month. Opposition leader raila odinga called the protests over the high cost of living and tax hikes. On friday, an Appeals Court lifted a freeze on the contested tax law, which doubles fuel taxes and introduces a new housing levy. Some activists have questioned the courts move. We think there could be interference in the ruling. They come out boldly condemning the courts, declaring the courts again are the government, the courts are being used by external forces. Amy in lebanon, at least five people were killed sunday during clashes between rival groups in one of the largest Palestinian Refugee camps near the city of sidon. The fighting broke out after an unknown gunman tried to assassinate an islamist militant leader, killing a companion instead. In response, militants killed a military general and three other members of the fatah group, which is part of the Palestinian Authority. At least seven people were also wounded in the violence, including at least two children. Palestinian factions in the camp have for years cracked down on militant islamist groups. The overcrowded ein elhilweh camp houses some 55,000 palestinians. In related news, the head of the Palestinian AuthorityMahmoud Abbas and the leader of hamas have formed a Reconciliation Committee aimed at uniting rival palestinian political movements. Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh met for rare inperson talks in egypt sunday, along with the heads of other palestinian groups. Hamas, which runs a parallel government in the besieged gaza strip, has called on the Palestinian Authority to end its security collaboration with israel and cease the detention of political prisoners. The group has also called for the formation of an inclusive Palestinian Parliament through democratic elections. Friction between hamas and fatah, the dominant party in the Palestinian Authority, has persisted since 2006 after violence erupted between the two groups over control of palestinian territories. In the United States, the Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the Memphis Police. This is kristen clarke, assistant attorney general at the doj. We received multiple reports of officers escalating encounters with community members, resulting in excessive force. There are also indications that officers made use of force punitive leak with behavior they perceived to be influenced. The information we reviewed also showed officers may use force against people who are already restrained or in custody. Amy the targeting and abuse of black residents by Memphis Police came under a National Spotlight following the january killing of tyre nichols, a 29yearold black man who was peppersprayed and fatally beaten by police during a traffic stop. And a federal judge has blocked an arkansas law that would allow criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing harmful materials to children and teens. The law, signed by republican governor, former crumbs Spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders in march, would have gone into effect tomorrow, tuesday. The aclu filed the lawsuit on behalf of various arkansas libraries, bookstores, librarians, and readers. 17yearold plaintiff and High School Student hayden kirby said, i want to fight for our rights to intellectual freedom and ensure that libraries remain spaces where young arkansans can explore diverse perspectives. And those are some of the headlines. This is democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. When we come back, in a stunning decision, a federal george judge has ordered the release of new york men who were entrapped three by the fbi and sentenced to 25 years in prison for a governmentorchestrated bombing plot. [music break] amy storm by godspeed you black emperor. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. A federal judge has ordered the release of three new york men who were sentenced to 25 years for their role in a governmentorchestrated bombing plot. The men who were all black and muslim converts would become known as the newburgh four. They were convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison for placing what they thought were bombs in a new york synagogue in 2010. Supporters of the men have long argued that they were entrapped by the government. On thursday, u. S. District judge Colleen Mcmahon issued a stunning ruling ordering their compassionate release of three of the four men. In her ruling mcmahon wrote, a person reading the crimes of conviction in this case would be left with the impression that the offending defendants were sophisticated International Terrorists committed to jihad against the United States. However, they were, in actual reality, hapless, easily manipulated and penurious petty criminals. mcmahon said the men who were convicted were not terrorists but impoverished small time grifters and drug users street level dealers who could use some money. she wrote, the f. B. I. Invented the conspiracy, identified the targets, manufactured the ordnance. The fbi relied on an informant who was involved in several other highprofile entrapment cases within the Muslim Community. Democracy now has closely followed the case of the newburgh four since 2010 when democracy now s anjali kamat and Jacquie Soohen of big noise films traveled through muslim communities in new york and new jersey to track the newburgh case and two entrapment cases. In october of 2010, democracy now aired a special investigation into these cases. This clip begins with anjali kamat. On may 20, two thousand 9, 4 africanamerican men from the city of new york were arrested in the bronx. Known as the newburgh four, they made headlines, a stark example of homegrown terror. Prosecutors described them as violent men who embraced every opportunity for terrorism. They now face trial in manhattan for conspiracy of using weapons of mass destruction. The cases raises serious questions about the governments role in creating and then foiling fake terrorist plots. The bombs and missiles were fake, supplied by the fbi and nypd. Alicia is the aunt of David Williams, one of the newburgh four. She has tried to mobilize support for her nephew. Taking her train to the trial, she was upset. I couldnt sleep. So much to think about the family, what they have to go through. He is fighting for the case and it is finally happening, we are going to trial. Just worried that the government wants to make the case so bad that he could go away for life. Heavy on my mind last night. Like the other members of newburgh four, 29yearold David Williams lived in the city of newburgh and served drug time petty charges and criminal offenses. All poop women were converts to islam and one of them is a haitianborn immigrant and a paranoid schizophrenic. Alicia said she was shocked to hear that the men were being called terrorists. Amy that was an excerpt from a 2010 democracy now investigation by anjali kamat and Jacquie Soohen. Alica mcwilliamsmccollum went on to directly accuse the government of entrapping her nephew. This is entrapment. This is the most impoverished county. You have not stumbled upon a cell. Nobody was telling you somebody was plotting to do anything. You created a crime. Amy that was alica mcwilliamsmccollum speaking in 2010. She died last year after fighting for over a decade for the release of her nephew David Williams and the other members of the newburgh four. Well, David Williams, onta williams, Laguerre Payen will now be released within 90 days after last weeks stunning judicial ruling. We are joined now by two lawyers who are part of the coalition for civil freedoms which was founded in 2010 to challenge preemptive prosecution and the post9 11 targeting, surveillance, and criminalization of muslim communities. Kathy manley is legal director for the coalition for civil freedoms and stephen downs is the chair of the coalitions board of directors. Former chief attorney for the chief of judicial conduct in new york state. Stephen downs and kathy manley, welcome to democracy now . Kathy manley, lets start with you. The significance of this ruling yesterday by the federal judge, tell us exactly what she said and how this came about after well over a decade. Kathy thanks for having us. I have to say, it was so poignant to hear alicias voice because she was at the heart of the support for all of these men over these years, she brought us together, inspired us. When we filed a motion she was still alive and we really wanted her to see this, to see them get released. Unfortunately that was not to be. Hopefully she is up there smiling. This was a wonderful decision. It took a year and a have to happen but we are so happy the judge she always understood this case was unfair. She called it the unterrorism case from day one. She understood that the minimum sentence was too harsh, but she believed there was nothing she could do about it, because there is no entrapment defense in the law, which i can talk about, but there was no way for her to avoid doing this, she believed. When we file the motion, that gave her the opportunity to make compassionate release motion, to say this sentence is too harsh. And she did say so. Its a wonderful ruling because it showed the government created this entire case. The judge is saying this, this is what we have been saying all along. She could not say it was entrapment because the law does not consider this entrapment, but it is the classic definition of entrapment. We are just really grateful she understood the unfairness of the case, and now they will be released. Amy stephen downs, if you can lay out the case for us. Also lets be clear, the judge, Colleen Mcmahon, is the original judge. She basically reversed her decision. Stephen thank you, amy, for having us on. Democracy now has stood with us for years for calling out the unfairness in this case. I think people were onto it very early. What simply happened was the government sent down their key man, Shahed Hussain, who entrapped people in albany, sent him to hang out in a mosque in newburgh. The mosque weakly caught on to him that he was a pony and government informant, and they kicked him out. So he went to the parking lot to talk about anybody they could find. Lets do jihad. I am rich. He hooked some guy who got interested in this, not because he was interested in jihad, but because he was interested in the money. They talked and on, James Cromitie were on and off, and then hussein knew that he would lose this hook, so he came back with an offer saying i will pay you 250,000. He later tried to deny that. The government allowed him to do that, but there is a tape recording of him actually making that offer, 250,000. So they decided to go ahead with this plot. I believe cromitie always intended to get the money but not harm anybody because that was not in his nature. A few weeks before the plot was about to go down, the government decided they wanted to entrapped larger numbers. It would not look good if they were just entrapping one person. So they told cromitie they needed some lookouts. They went out and recruited these three young kids who just needed money. In one case, David Williams, he desperately needed the money to get his brother a liver transplant. They joined in for a very brief time. Then the whole thing came down on top of them. I think there was never any doubt at the whole purpose of this was the government trying to buy crime with money, offering money to get the crime. It had nothing to do with terrorism, protecting a community from the people. What i find really offensive about it, they then took these entrapment cases and turned them on the Muslim Community, and use them to generate hatred against the Muslim Community by making all sorts of lies and exaggerated statements about what the case was about. They became a purveyor of hate against the Muslim Community. The government has absolutely no business of doing that. That is how it happened. Amy in 2014, hbo aired the documentary the newburgh sting , which included secret conversations between the undercover fbi informant, Shahed Hussain, and James Cromitie, one of the men who became a part of the newburgh four. Listen closely because some of the audio can be hard to understand. The clip begins with James Cromitie. None of these brothers have jobs. Three of us have no jobs. We have no money in our pockets. How do you do this . How do you think they feel . I talked to them already. That is what it is. If they think they are going to make any money, please do not. This is jihad. This is jihad. You know what they are thinking. They can use the money though. Amy that was fbi informant Shahed Hussain and James Cromitie, one of the men who became a part of the newburgh four. Kathy manley, talk about who the fbi informant was, a fact that he had fled pakistan, perhaps wanted for murder. He did not want to be deported, so he was desperate to do what the fbi wanted. Kathy he was at one point wanted for murder in pakistan. I dont know the details of that. But after seeing his trajectory in the u. S. , it is a long trail of slime. He just kept ripping people off, conning people, tricking them out of their money. He was eventually caught in a case where he was defrauding the dmv, getting people fake drivers licenses, working with a correct employee. Then the government was going to deport him to pakistan, but instead they gave him an opportunity to work for them in alvin ailey albany. He did wrongfully prosecute them. He is so deceptive and slimy. They ended up getting convicted for 15 years. We thought this guy is so dishonest, and jerry hated him, they will probably not use him again, but sure enough we found that they used him in the newburgh for case. They love him. They used him in another case in pittsburgh. That was featured in a documentary. It actually featured the clip of Shaheed Hussein offering James Cromitie the 250,000 when he didnt realize he was being recorded. This guy then went on to form a Limousine Company in albany, and that was tragically the limousine that killed 20 people in 2018. He was in pakistan at that point, letting his son run the company, telling him dont worry if the brakes dont work. We dont really care. His son is now doing 15 years while he is in pakistan hanging out with his superrich brother who is stabling the government in pakistan. This guy has a long history. Amy stephen downs, lets end with you. Three of the newburgh four will be released within 90 days, compassionate release. What happens to cromitie . And the fact that this fbi informant who did a sting operation in albany, the fort dix five in pittsburgh, do these cases begin to unravel . Stephen first of all, i just saw a letter from cromities lawyer asking to be appointed to represent him. I am sure that cromitie will also make a move to be released. Of is different is of course, his case is different from the others, but it looks pretty good that the judge will grant that. In terms of the second part of that, there are a lot of cases that look like this case. This is a particularly clear and dramatic example of it, but this was the government Standard Operating Procedure after 9 11. They were going to create as many terrorists as they could, to show the public they were on the job, that they knew what they were doing, keeping america safe. If they could not find any real terrorists there were not any around they had to create them. That is what they did. We had a lot of cases out there. The fort dix five, the holy land five is another case. You can go down a long list of these cases. Some of this, particularly the holy land five, fort dix five, have essentially life sentences. They will probably die in jail. So there is a high priority in getting the people out. We will need a lot of work to go in there and start to try different theories to get them out. This case was a godsend to us. It really underlies the hypocrisy of the governments position, and allows us to argue in other cases, it is no different. You just have to look at the facts and realize these people were set up. I see our work is cut out for us now. This particular case shows the way. It may not be through compassionate release motions, we may have to try other strategies. But, in a way, it breaks the assumption that these cases were real cases. It shows the government had a policy of creating cases when they could not find any real cases and then pretending they were real cases, demonizing the Muslim Community in the meantime. That is what we will have to work on over the next few years. Amy thank you both for being with us, stephen downs, chair of the board for coalition of civil freedoms, chief attorney on the coalition for digital conduct. Kathy manley is legal director for the coalition for civil freedoms. Next up, a former obstetrician got ecologist at Columbia University, Robert Hadden, has been sentenced to 20 years in a federal prison, accused of sexually assaulting hundreds and hundreds of patients during examinations over 20 years. We will speak to two of his patients and look at my columbia ignored dr. Haddens behavior for so long. Stay with us. [music break] amy stand like and oak by rising appalachia. This is democracy now , democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. A warning to our listeners and viewers, readers, this next segment includes the discussion of Sexual Assault. Here in new york, a former Columbia University gynecologist dr. Robert hadden has been sentenced to 20 years for sexual abuse charges. That sentencing comes after haddon was accused in january of luring patients across state lines here in manhattan where he sexually assaulted them. U. S. District judge Richard Berman handed down the maximum prison sentence allowed in the case tuesday, calling the case unprecedented because of hadden s hundreds of victims and how his abuse continued for two decades at columbia. One of the survivors, evelyn yang, the wife of former democratic president ial candidate andrew yang, recently wrote, to this day, im still waiting for Columbia University to notify former patients that a now twiceconvicted sex offender worked at columbia for 20plus years. Theyve been saying that thats not their responsibility, but how does that make sense . , yang asked. After hadden was found guilty in january, yang responded to the verdict on ac in an exclusive interview. I felt such relief and gratitude. The fact that we almost had a Second Chance at it. The first time he was convicted, he basically got a slap on the wrist. This time i feel like it was the first time in the trial that a full extent of his crimes were presented and considered. Amy lawyers representing survivors say colombia had a long history of ignoring haddens behavior in order to protect its reputation instead of acting in the victims interests. So far, Columbia University and New Yorkpresbyterian Hospital paid out 171 million in claims in 2021 to 79 former patients, and 165 million in 2022 to 147 former patients. In 2016, hadden pleaded guilty in new York State Court to abusing two women as part of what survivors called a slaponthewrist plea deal with the Manhattan District Attorneys office. Hadden lost his medical license, but avoided prison or probation. In response to advocacy from survivors, last may, new york state passed the adult survivors act, which created a special one year look back window to allow individuals who were 18 or older when they were sexually assaulted in the state to file a lawsuit against the person who harmed them and or the negligent institution. The act was enacted last year. Now lawyers are filing another round of lawsuits under the new york adult survivors act. A correction, that was a 71 milliondollar lawsuit in 2021, 106 he 5 million in 22 settled with columbia, bringing it to about 236 million. We are joined by two guests who were former patients of hadden. Laurie maldonado attended the trial of former Columbia University obgyn Robert Hadden and gave testimony in january before he was remanded. She was a gynecology and then an obstetrics patient of haddens between 2003 and 2012. And Marissa Hoechstetter gave a victim impact statement during the federal trial of hadden. In 2015, she reported dr. Hadden to the Manhattan District Attorney cy vance and became one of the first people to speak out against hadden publicly. She was a patient of haddens from 20102012. Welcome you both to democracy now marissa, lets begin with you. Your response to the 20year sentence that hadden received, and what you are seeking now . Marissa thank you for that introduction and for having us now. Its an important milestone in a years long quest for justice. Hadden is someone who received peschel treatment, continued to evade accountability for a very long time, so it is certainly a sort of vindication, gratifying to see that sentence, to be there. Ultimately, prison for someone like him does not get out the institutional accountability, does not repair the harm done to me and many other people. But it was really something incredible to witness. Amy i wanted to also ask Laurie Maldonado, you were in the court room when Robert Hadden was sentenced. Talk about your response, first to the guilty verdict and you were not one of the people involved in the case, but you got to testify. That is interesting. If you could explain why. Laurie thank you for having us. Its an honor to be on democracy now and bring light to this issue. It is so great to hear evelyns voice before. She had notified so many women. And to have marissa on with me, so inspired by so many of these women. You asked about my response to the trial. Really, it was a step toward justice. Many survivors were in the courtroom. There were nine that testified. Brave, courageous women were crossexamined, and that is what the jury gave their verdict on. Then judge berman gave the opportunity for the women to give testimony to hadden and him. A lot of us women, it was empowering, it was intense, and we were able to share our stories. We were validated and heard. That was just a really big part of the experience. Just grateful. I later found out that judge berman was a social worker and got his msw from fordham, and im a social worker, so i appreciate how he helped out the case, allowing the survivors to come forward. Amy laurie, if you could share your story, whatever you feel comfortable with, how you came to become dr. Haddens patient, was your gynecologist for years, then you became pregnant. He was an obstetrician gynecologist. Talk about how this process took place. We are talking about hundreds of women. Laurie the last time i heard, 250 women, and now i have heard the number 340. This is a lot of women involved. I first saw hadden in about 2003. I was in my mid20s. I selected hadden to be my ob gyn because it was at Columbia University new york presbyterian hospital, a prestigious hospital, so i started that relationship all the way up to 2012. Almost a decade, hadden was my doctor. Like many women, i trusted hadden with my care. I trusted him with my wellbeing. I thought he had my best interests in mind. He was a serial sexual predator. Every visit was an opportunity for him to commit abuse and assault. Early on, there was lots of grooming behavior, and we heard lots of this from the testimony that women gave. Same thing for me. Long breast exams, vaginal exams. He would ask inappropriate questions about your sex life. He told me, told many of the women, you have a tilted uterus, which means i just have to go a little bit deeper on these exams. Part of that, me being young, my first ob gyn, so not knowing the standard of care, i didnt realize that each visit was abuse. Amy were there nurses in the room . Could you talk about that, also the fact that he didnt use gloves when he was examining you. This issue of saving you had a tilted uterus, made you more beholden to him because he said he could make sure that you could get pregnant. Laurie thank you for asking those questions. Exactly. There was never a nurse that i can recall present in the room. They may have done the first vitals and then left the room, so you were often alone with him. He would often say, you have lots of moles, i want to make sure they are not cancerous, so that would be an opportunity to take you out of your gown. There was a lot of that. There is something about really wanting to be pregnant, and i had miscarried before the birth of my son. He told me, you are going to get pregnant. My predecessor invented the shot in the 1960s. Because you are rh negative, we will give the shot to you, so you will not miscarry. He would use knowledge where you could believe, he will be my only ob gyn. He is the only one that could deliver my baby. He really used knowledge to kind of allure women into trusting him and that having a long relationship. Amy what happened when you were nine months pregnant . Just to say what you feel comfortable saying. Laurie thank you. I was sexually assaulted by Robert Hadden two days before the birth of my child. I went in for my checkup. My exhusband was in the room with me. We were just excited. I remember in the office room i went to the bathroom. I was imminent from the birth, we were really excited. Hadden came in the room and he had a glimmer in his eyes. I thought that that glimmer was that he was excited like me for the birth, but i realize it was an opportunity for him to commit Sexual Assault. He later said, one more thing. I need to check you. He took me behind the curtain away from my husband, put me on the exam table. I thought he was going to check my cervix, to make sure the baby was ok. That is not what happened. What did happen, hadden used his hands to harm me, stuck his fist inside my regina. Vagina. It was painful, i screamed out in pain. He abruptly left the room. My husband at the time came over, checked on me, said are you ok . I was like, no, im not ok. That he asked me a really important question. Do you feel violated . I said yes. I think i felt violated and i was confused. I didnt know if that was a medical procedure or what that was. I could not stand. I had a tough time sitting, i could not eat. I was really disturbed. At that moment when it happens, you secondguess yourself. Later, i understood, what i did was, i repressed that memory because i had to survive the moment. And i was giving birth in 48 hours. I was in labor. My husband and i, we focused on the labor. Amy so you give birth to this beautiful baby boy. From that moment, he disappeared, the doctor. He did not deliver your son. What did you come to understand after . And this brings columbia into the story. They were involved before, too, because you went to him because of his elite credentials. Laurie when i went to see him, i went a few visits after to see hadden. I showed up, i was told that hadden took a leave, and that was it. I saw another doctor who said, i noticed you were a long time patient of hadden. I wanted to make sure you were ok. Never saying that hadden was arrested, never coming forward, just seeing if i was ok in that moment. That was part of it, that we were never notified. The way we were notified were people like marissa, diane munson, evelyn yang, that is how we were notified. When i first realized the scale this is when my son was between two and three. I was on the subway. New york subway, commuting to work, and i saw the picture of hadden. It said, this guy is a sicko. I had a panic attack, realizing it was Sexual Assault, realizing i had this doctor for such a long time and being in shock. Amy we are talking to Laurie Maldonado who was there at the sentencing of dr. Hadden, who testified at the trial. Marissa hoechstetter, you were there, too, also a patient, victim of dr. Hadden. If you could take us forward now. We have the issue of the man going to prison for years, and then we have the institution that he worked for, and the fact that hadden had a plea deal with the previous new york d. A. , cy vance. Explain what you now understand whats happening with hadden. The number of people that had come forward to complain to columbia. Marissa thank you, lori, for sharing so much with us, the audience. I am always in awe listening to you. We know that hadden saw 6000 to 8000 patients during his career at columbia near presbyterian hospital. I firmly believe he went into this profession with the intent to use his position of power and privilege to abuse people. As more continues to come out, the institution has an obligation to at least inform patients of what they were informed exposed to. I dont know the names of all of those 6000 patients but they could make a goodfaith effort to reach out to those people. We know they have received at least one letter in the early 1990s run a patient, complaining about being sexually assaulted by him. The head of the department wrote back, acknowledged the letter, so that they would look into it after vacation, but they never did. We had nurses testify in the trial, other people came forward. We know there were earlier settlements with victims but they were forced to sign ndas. Columbia very much knew about his behavior and ultimately was only thinking about their own liability. One thing that is important to note and evelyn shared this in her story. He was arrested in june 2012 when someone called the police about his behavior. Columbia allowed him to come back to work for about six or eight weeks, and he assaulted people during that period. Even if you put aside what has come forward about his decades long career, they tangibly knew he had been arrested for Sexual Assault by the new York Police Department and allowed him to keep on working. Hi, like laurie, rent some of the headlines in the new york post. It was very salacious but also validating in a sense because i knew i was not alone, knew it was not something i wanted to speak publicly about. I followed the original criminal prosecution and eventually went forward to the Manhattan District Attorneys report what happened to me because i felt strongly that the women involved in that not be alone, and i wanted to make sure i was using my voice to validate them, support them, make sure this person would not practice again. In hindsight, looking back, this incident and happening before the metoo movement. The reporting on Harvey Weinstein and others that the manhattan d. A. At a time had given preferential treatment to white men in positions of power accused of Sexual Assault. I came to realize that the treatment hadden received, while at the time his name was not famous, columbia and his attorneys had accessed that same network of physician and privilege. His attorney made a Campaign Contribution to cy vance on the day the plea agreement was reached in 2015. Things like that were very hard to unsee. I never set out wanted to talk about being assaulted when i was pregnant, but i wanted to talk about the failure of the justice system. Amy i want to get your response to Columbia University and its affiliated hospitals, announcing the 100 62 5 million settlement with 140 of haddens patients last year. Columbia University IrvingMedical Center said, we deeply regret the pain that Robert Haddens patients suffered and hope these resolutions can provide some measure of support for the women he hurt. All those who came forward should be commended. We are committed to the safety and dignity of every one of our patients and have adopted policies to ensure they are protected and empowered while in our care. you have that settlement of 160 7 million with columbia, another one, a court dollars that columbia has to pay out. Are you a part of those two settlements, marissa . Marissa i am not we would i have a separate Settlement Agreement with columbia. A lot gets focused on the numbers. These are big numbers. They are mostly being paid by insurance companies. I dont think any of that is affecting the bottom line. We have not a lot of options to offer recourse to survivors. Even that, and number could be justifiably higher, and it should continue to go up as more people seek a resolution with them. The statement you read warmly came after years and years of asking for some response from them. Before i spoke publicly, i asked for them to participate in a process where i can get a new birth or to forget for my child i didnt have Robert Haddens name. Their initial statement were much more distant than what happened. One of the things, through our public advocacy, the passage of the adult survivors act, which you mentioned in the introduction, forced their hand. When you remove statutes of limitation from the equation, they have to be much more responsible to people coming forward. Amy to be clear, are there a number of women suing him because of what you pushed through, the new york adult survivors act that kathy hochul signed last year . By the way, allowed e. Jean carroll to go back and sue President Trump under. Marissa correct. The adult survivors act is about putting the power back in the hands of survivors. Of course, i was advocating for women i knew assaulted by hadden. The number of additional lawsuits we will see is in the hundreds. People focus on the numbers of people coming forward. Its also important to acknowledge the adult survivors act forces the institutions to come to the table earlier in mediation. Whether or not something actually becomes filed, goes to a lawsuit, focusing on the number is maybe not the best measure. But it gave a lot of leverage to a lot of survivors. Amy explain what you pushed through in the new York City Council in this issue with your twin daughters of not having haddens name on their beautiful birth certificate. Marissa it was something sentimental and emotional for me when i went to register them for kindergarten, and i pulled out this document that i needed to provide the school district, and whose name was there . Name of attendant at delivery. Not all states have this. If i had given birth at home, it could have been my husbands name on there, a taxi driver on the west side highway, but it was his name. I felt this got punch gut punch. This person who harmed me. I had a csection. The most important, painful part for me is that his hands cut open my body and took my children out. He was the first person to touch them and that is not something i can change. I didnt want his name to remain on this document. I have to do with the connection to him but i wanted to end that for them. Long story short, mostly because columbia would not provide Additional Information to the state, it needed to be legislated. We passed a law that allows, if doctors lose their medical license, you can have their name redacted from these official documents. Amy marissa h hello, and welcome to nhk newsline. Im Catherine Kobayashi in new york. Russian leaders have said repeatedly at that they may be forced to use Nuclear Weapons to counter their weapons in ukraine and nato. Theyve moved some of their arsenal into the territory of their allies in belarus. Delegates to a United Nations meeting on disarmament say such threats a