ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo defended his administration’s hiring practices Wednesday amid an FBI probe and lashed out at a reporter who questioned why so many Democratic campaign veterans were landing jobs.
Cuomo acknowledged on Friday that the executive chamber was subpoenaed for information about employees working for the governor who were placed on the payrolls of agencies and authorities.
“You know as much as I know,” Cuomo said, adding that “every administration on the state level since Rockefeller” has done it.
“The federal government does it,” he added. “The White House does it. The Department of Justice does it. So, that’s all I know.”
When longtime Albany reporter Kyle Hughes of Nysnys News mentioned that his administration was hiring former campaign staffers for Hillary Clinton and President Obama, the governor shot back, “I don’t even understand what you’re talking about.”
“Have you been in Albany? Have you covered government? Do people who have experience get hired by government? Or is this a new fact for you?” he said.
Cuomo has been mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for president in 2020.
Asked whether the FBI probe was politically motivated, Cuomo said he did not want to speculate what’s behind it.
The FBI probe comes as the governor’s former close aide, Joe Percoco, is set to go on trial next month on bribery and fraud charges.