Land of Cuomo...(D) Cuomo May Have to Forfeit Millions Earned From Pandemic Memoir

[Leroy N. Soetoro]

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/16/nyregion/andrew-cuomo-book.html

A New York State ethics panel revoked its approval that allowed Andrew
Cuomo to write his book, contending that he broke his promise not to use
state resources.

By Grace Ashford and Luis Ferré-Sadurní
Nov. 16, 2021

ALBANY, N.Y. — Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo could be forced to forfeit
millions of dollars that he earned from his 2020 pandemic memoir after a
state ethics board on Tuesday voted to revoke its authorization for the
book.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics accused Mr. Cuomo of essentially
obtaining approval under false pretenses, including breaking his promise
not to use state resources toward completion of the memoir.

“Contrary to the representations made on behalf of Governor Cuomo and not
disclosed to the commission, state property, resources and personnel,
including staff volunteers, were used in connection with the preparation,
writing, editing and publication of the book,” according to a resolution
that was approved by a 12-to-1 vote.

The commission also noted several misrepresentations in Mr. Cuomo’s
request for the ethics commission’s approval, including the nature of the
book’s subject matter and how far along the project was at the time of the
request. It also noted that the full financial details of the deal and
contract had been withheld from the panel.

Legal experts said that the governor would most likely have the
opportunity to reapply to the board for its approval; if the board
rejected Mr. Cuomo’s application, it could order him to surrender book
profits or face separate penalties.

In a statement, Mr. Cuomo characterized the decision as “the height of
hypocrisy” and “a political game,” reiterating that any staff who assisted
with the book project did so on their own time.

Punishing him for relying on the board’s approval was unfair, the
statement added, saying “the governor cannot be held responsible for
internal decisions over recusals and approvals made by JCOPE.”

A lawyer for Mr. Cuomo, Jim McGuire, said that he was looking “forward to
vigorously contesting in court any efforts JCOPE makes to enforce this
baseless and improper decision.”

Mr. Cuomo had asked the state ethics panel in July 2020 for permission to
write a book about his leadership during the crisis, just as New York
began to slowly emerge from the brutal first wave of the pandemic. A staff
member at the commission reviewed the request and issued an authorization;
no vote was taken.

For Mr. Cuomo, who resigned in August, the book was a way to capitalize on
the national fame he earned after New York became the epicenter of the
pandemic.

For months, Mr. Cuomo refused to divulge how much he had been paid by his
publisher, Crown, even as investigators scrutinized whether he had
illegally used state resources to write and promote the book.

That changed in May, when his financial disclosures became public, showing
he was expected to earn more than $5 million from the book. He received
$3.12 million last year and was supposed to be paid another $2 million
over the next two years, state officials said at the time.

His spokesman has said that Mr. Cuomo netted about $1.5 million from the
payment last year, after taxes and expenses; he donated $500,000 to
charity and placed the remainder in a trust for his three daughters.

Image

Credit...Crown, via Associated Press
The state attorney general’s office is investigating Mr. Cuomo’s use of
state resources for the writing and editing of his book. The New York
Times and others have reported that top aides were involved with the
production of the manuscript, even attending meetings with the publisher —
a possible violation of state law that forbids the use of public resources
for personal gain.

Understand the Cuomo Impeachment Report
Card 1 of 4
A broad inquiry. The New York State Assembly released the findings of its
eight-month impeachment investigation into former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s
behavior while in office and potential abuses of power by Mr. Cuomo and
his top staff. Here’s what the report found:

Sexual harassment. The inquiry found “overwhelming evidence” Mr. Cuomo
engaged in sexual harassment, reinforcing a damning report by the state
attorney general. Multiple women have accused Mr. Cuomo of harassment that
included groping, unwanted kisses and lewd remarks.

Nursing home deaths. Mr. Cuomo’s administration “materially
misrepresented” the extent of deaths that occurred in nursing homes in the
early months of the pandemic, according to the report. The official tally
might have undercounted the true toll by as much as 50 percent.

Book deal. The report also found that Mr. Cuomo used state workers to
produce his pandemic memoir, and one assemblyman said that it would be
“reasonable” to infer a connection between the $5.1 million book deal and
the manipulation of nursing home death data.

“I would think that if he does apply again, he’s going to have to make a
showing that there won’t be a violation of the use of state resources law,
which, since the book is already written, and did violate that provision,
should be very hard to do,” said Evan Davis, a former counsel to Mario
Cuomo and former president of the New York City Bar Association.

Mr. Cuomo’s 320-page memoir has also come under fire because he began to
work on it just as his most senior aides rewrote a key report from the
state Health Department to obscure the true number of fatalities in
nursing homes during the pandemic.

Indeed, a State Assembly investigation is looking at whether there was any
link between his administration’s undercounting of nursing home deaths and
his attempt to use the book to burnish his image as a hero during the
pandemic.

The book, titled “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19
Pandemic,” turned into a headache for Crown earlier this year as Mr. Cuomo
became engulfed in other scandals, including sexual harassment allegations
that led to his resignation.

It became a commercial disappointment and, in March, Crown canceled the
promotion and any plans for a paperback version, raising questions about
whether the publisher would pay out the governor’s full advance. At the
time, Crown cited an ongoing investigation by federal prosecutors into Mr.
Cuomo’s handling of nursing home data as the reason to pause “active
support” of the book.

Crown did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.

This is the third time that the commission — which has been the subject of
broad scrutiny, with Gov. Kathy Hochul saying that she’d like to “blow
[it] up” and begin anew — has attempted to rescind its prior approval of
Mr. Cuomo’s request.

State Senator Liz Krueger, who has been a proponent of ethics reform,
cautioned that the decision Tuesday should not be read as a vindication of
the board.

“In order for it to ever work, first the governor has to step down, you
put the right people in place, and then you have to try three times before
they get it right?” Ms. Krueger asked.

“This does nothing to convince me that JCOPE doesn’t need to be scrapped
and started again.”



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