Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo hit Albany’s ethics watchdog with a lawsuit Friday, accusing it of “extraordinary bias” against him as he seeks to hold onto proceeds from his $5.1 million book deal.
The Joint Commission on Public Ethics voted overwhelmingly in November to rescind its decision that allowed Cuomo to write “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic,” arguing state resources were used to write the book, which it said contained “serial omissions and misrepresentations” about New York’s pandemic response.
Cuomo’s lawyers argued that he complied with JCOPE’s original parameters for writing the book and asked the state supreme court to overrule the agency’s decision and allow him to keep the millions he earned from the book.
The former governor claimed that staff members who worked on the book did so on their own time, and said the agency’s ruling amounted to “flagrant violations of the due process rights secured to him by the United States Constitution.”
“Simply stated, never in the history of New York State has an agency so breathtakingly and irresponsibly prejudged a matter on which it is the final decisionmaker,” the lawsuit filed in Albany County claimed.
The disgraced Democrat, who resigned from office in August amid widespread allegations of sexual misconduct, spearheaded the creation of the ethics and lobbying regulatory agency in his first term.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders had proposed replacing the commission with an independent body, arguing it was too close to the governor’s office.
JCOPE declined to issue a comment to The Post Friday night.
Cuomo has been attempting to dip his toes back in the political waters in recent months, running ads claiming he had been exonerated of charges of sexual harassment and inappropriate touching.
The charm offensive started after five district attorneys across the state didn’t pursue charges against the 64-year-old Queens native, citing a lack of evidence.
“In no way should this be a positive reflection on Andrew Cuomo. This decision is not an exoneration,” Oswego County DA Gregory Oakes said in January.
