11 May 2021: Editorial - The Preemptive Smears of Governor Cuomo

Editorial: Mr. Cuomo on the attack

The editors of the Albany Times-Union recognize a change in Governor Cuomo's tactics for addressing those seeking to hold him accountable for his alleged misconduct while in office:

Mr. Cuomo started out soberly enough, saying that his “interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended.” He called Ms. James “very competent,” urged the public to be patient, and predicted he would be vindicated.

That’s all changed as the accusations have accumulated. Between Ms. James’ office, the Assembly Judiciary Committee and the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, there are open investigations of the alleged harassment; a cover-up of data on COVID-19 deaths among nursing home residents; reports of faulty bolts on the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge; revelations that members of Mr. Cuomo’s family were given preferential treatment for COVID-19 tests; and claims the governor violated ethics rules and laws by having staffers help with his multi-million memoir deal last year.

Now we hear Mr. Cuomo saying recently, “I’m not telling anyone to have faith in anything” when it comes to Ms. James’ investigation. And there’s a senior adviser, Rich Azzopardi, sneering at credible ethical questions as “jumping the shark” and saying Ms. James is out to “further political self-interest.”

At this writing, we cannot find any statement by New York Attorney General Letitia James or members of her office in the media to support either Governor Cuomo's claims or his new chief PR flack Azzopardi's claims regarding her political self-interest.

We do find a media report on the status of the attorney general's probe of the allegations of sexual harassment levied against Governor Cuomo by at least nine women, which indicates six have been interviewed by investigators working for the AG's office. That same report indicates her office is investigating criminal allegations involving New York's vaccine czar Larry Schwartz, in which the longtime Cuomo confidant and adviser is alleged to have linked political support for Governor Cuomo by county executives to access to COVID-19 vaccines.

We will point out that Governor Cuomo has inside information into both investigations. As the alleged perpetrator in the sexual harassment incidents, he would be aware of what information the women speaking to AG James' investigators might provide about his conduct to investigators. He would also be a recipient of information from Schwartz on the responses he obtained from county executives related to their willingness to trade political support for Governor Cuomo in exchange for access to COVID-19 vaccines for residents in their counties.

Discrediting James' investigations into these matters before any findings are announced would be a motive for Cuomo and Azzopardi's preemptive smears.

The Times-Union editors do have a recommendation for the AG's and also the New York Assembly's investigators:

Those investigating Mr. Cuomo need to be mindful of the political realities Mr. Cuomo understands all too well — it’s far easier for the public to digest a quick, cynical sound bite about political agendas than to sort through a deluge of evidence and findings. Ms. James and the Legislature should consider releasing conclusions on discrete aspects of their investigations as they come.

We'll see what happens next.