Name: Governor Andrew Cuomo Now Facing Potential Criminal Probe Into Book Deal
Brand: gothamist.com
SKU: gothamist-com-324
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Governor Andrew Cuomo Now Facing Potential Criminal Probe Into Book Deal

preview

AdvertisementThe State Comptroller’s office has requested Attorney General Tish James conduct a criminal investigation into whether Governor Andrew Cuomo or top aides violated the law while working on his memoir last summer.In a letter sent to James’ office on April 13th, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli requested James inspect “the alleged commission of any indictable offense” related to the use of state property or resources by Cuomo’s executive chamber “in the drafting, editing, sale and promotion of the Governor’s book and any related financial or business transaction.”DiNapoli also authorized James to present charges to a grand jury and to “prosecute the person or persons believed to have committed...any crime or offense arising out of such investigation.”The New York Times on the Comptroller’s referral on Monday afternoon. James’ office to get a referral from the governor, the comptroller, or several other top state officials to start certain investigations.It’s not immediately clear what criminal statutes Cuomo may have violated, and the comptroller’s office declined to specify. A spokesperson for James’ office confirmed they had received the referral but declined to comment further.Good government groups have said Cuomo’s raises clear violations of state ethics laws, which are civil statutes, not criminal ones, punishable by , but not jail time.When asked about the latest potential probe into Cuomo’s conduct, senior advisor Rich Azzopardi said the probe “jumped the shark,” and accused DiNapoli of acting in an unethical and politically motivated manner.“The idea there was criminality involved here is patently absurd on its face and is just the furthering of a political pile-on,” Azzopardi said. “This is Albany politics at its worst and to be clear -- it is unethical to wield his criminal referral authority to further political self-interest‎.”Cuomo first announced he was writing a mid-pandemic memoir, titled , on July 10th, 2020, four days after the release of a health department report that top staffers from COVID.The and the reported both top aides and junior staffers were expected to work on the memoir as part of their normal duties, raising concerns about potential violations of the state Public Officers Law, which Cuomo’s office has maintained any work staff did on the memoir was voluntary and not paid for from state coffers. But ethics experts also point to the larger ethical question of whether Cuomo was deliberately deflating the number of nursing home deaths in order to secure the book deal, which could also represent a violation of ethics laws.Violations of the public officers law are supposed to be upheld by the State’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics, which was recently sent two complaints from state Republicans about Cuomo’s conduct. , the commission held a two-hour long executive session after which a representative said they had “authorized steps in an investigative matter,” but declined to state what the matter entailed.John Kaehny with the good government group Reinvent Albany, took the Comptroller’s referral as sign the comptroller and the state attorney wanted to go around the state ethics commission.“It shows they have no confidence in JCOPE,” Kaehny said. “They’ve teamed up to basically do JCOPE’s job.”A spokesperson for JCOPE didn’t return a request for comment right away.In mid-March, The New York State Assembly , among other subjects. Several women who’ve accused Cuomo of sexual harassment have said they would not participate in the process fearing it was too political. The investigation could be a precursor to an impeachment vote in the Assembly, but critics have called the probe a stall tactic from Cuomo’s political allies hoping to buy him more time.The FBI and the federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York , and whether he falsified data provided to the Attorney General Tish James hired an outside to investigate sexual harassment allegations by at least five current and former staffers against Cuomo, as well as several other women who met Cuomo in passing. Her office has reportedlyIn Republican legislators filed two complaints with the state’s Joint Commission on Public about whether state resources were used during the writing and promotion of Cuomo’s memoir. After a two-hour-long closed door meeting on April 9th, the commission said they had “authorized steps in an investigative matter,” declining to state what the matter was. Do you know the scoop?below orWe rely on your support to make local news available to all."It puts more of a burden on New York — puts more of a burden on 49 other states."Read More In:

AdvertisementThe State Comptroller’s office has requested Attorney General Tish James conduct a criminal investigation into whether Governor Andrew Cuomo or top aides violated the law while working on his memoir last summer.In a letter sent to James’ office on April 13th, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli requested James inspect “the alleged commission of any indictable offense” related to the use of state property or resources by Cuomo’s executive chamber “in the drafting, editing, sale and promotion of the Governor’s book and any related financial or business transaction.”DiNapoli also...

Governor Andrew Cuomo Now Facing Potential Criminal Probe Into Book Deal

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS