ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo was ordered by New York’s ethics fee Tuesday to surrender hundreds of thousands of {dollars} a writer paid him to write down a guide about his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
An legal professional for Cuomo instantly referred to as the motion unconstitutional and promised a struggle.
Cuomo was directed to show over proceeds earned from “American Disaster: Management Classes from the COVID-19 Pandemic” inside 30 days underneath a decision accepted 12-1 by the Joint Fee on Public Ethics, in keeping with a number of media experiences.
The order got here a month after the fee voted to rescind the ethics approval it had given Cuomo earlier than he entered into the $5.1 million guide deal.
“American Disaster” was revealed in October 2020, months earlier than Cuomo resigned amid findings he sexually harassed 11 ladies.
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The workers of the fee granted approval of the deal in July 2020, when his counsel informed the fee that Cuomo agreed to not use any state personnel or sources to supply his guide and that he would write it “fully on his personal time.” However complaints later surfaced that state property, sources and personnel have been used to organize, write, edit and publish the guide.
Cuomo has acknowledged that state staff helped with duties together with enhancing the manuscript. However he’s claimed that these staff have been volunteering.
“JCOPE’s actions in the present day are unconstitutional, exceed its personal authority and look like pushed by political pursuits quite than the details and the regulation,” Cuomo legal professional Jim McGuire stated in a ready assertion. “Ought to they search to implement this motion, we’ll see them in court docket.”
There was no speedy remark from the legal professional common’s workplace.
A separate state Meeting investigation launched final month discovered proof that Cuomo, who resigned in August, had his workers spend copious quantities of time on the mission.
Junior and senior workers members informed investigators they have been requested to carry out guide duties throughout their work day, together with transcribing dictations, printing and delivering paperwork, and attending conferences with brokers and publishers. One senior state official despatched and obtained 1,000 emails concerning the guide, the legislative report stated.
