BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) – A D.C.-based ethics group is suing Governor Andrew Cuomo after he reportedly earned $4 million in sales from the book he wrote last year during the pandemic.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is an organization that litigates and investigates "government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests and person gain". Their complaint claims that because the governor used his campaign funds for the book, he personally benefitted from it.
"The law is clear that you cannot spend campaign funds for your own personal benefit," said CREW President Noah Bookbinder said on the organization's website. "Because the money spent on book promotions appears to have been for the exclusive personal benefit of Governor Cuomo, he needs to be investigated."
A message to the governor's office and to his campaign was not returned.
The complaint lawsuit highlights specific campaign expenditures that are "potentially related" to this activity, including $45,102 on the salaries of campaign workers between August 6 and October 30, $7,400 in campaign consultants around that time, and for $12,467 for a company that sent targeted emails for the Cuomo campaign.
State election law prohibits campaign funds from being "covered by any person to a personal use which is unrelated to a political campaign or the holding of a public office or party position," or if they are used "exclusively for the personal benefit of the candidate or any other individual, not in connection with a political campaign or the holding of a public office or party position."
A report from the New York Times said the governor also used top aide Melissa DeRosa and other state resources to help with his book's manuscript.
