NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — New York Attorney General Letitia James issued at least one subpoena to the state's ethics agency for its records on former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's $5.1 million COVID-19 book deal, according to a new report.
The Joint Commission on Public Ethics drew ire from critics after the lead state ethics panel approved Cuomo's application to receive an outside income in a deal for his memoir, "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic"— in a decision made by internal approval from JCOPE staffers rather than a full panel vote, according to The New York Post.
A representative from James' office declined to comment to the Post on the alleged subpoena, which the Albany Times Union first reported was issued in connection to its criminal probe of "whether Cuomo's use of government workers to assist him in writing the book violated any laws."
Comptroller Tom DiNapoli referred a criminal probe in April to see if “the drafting, editing, sale and promotion of the Governor’s book and any related financial or business transactions" were improperly used with state resources.
Gary Lavine, a Republican-picked JCOPE commissioner, told the Post that a subpoena was received "several months ago, at the beginning of the summer" but would not "confirm or deny" what its subject was.
"There is a grand jury, otherwise the subpoena would not have been issued," he said. "The subpoena was served on the commission. However, it has been interpreted to apply to each commissioner individually. In other words, the commission received the subpoena institutionally — I was never served a subpoena but it has been interpreted that the subpoenas apply to each commissioner including me."
Lavine added that there is a JCOPE meeting scheduled for next Tuesday but there's "a dispute going on about whether the rescinding of the book approval should be in the public or the private session."
JCOPE Executive Director Sanford Berland said Cuomo, who resigned after James' independent investigation detailed his alleged sexual misconduct against multiple women, could be forced to return any royalties gained from his book contract if it is determined he violated state law.
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