20 July 2021: Analysis - Cuomo Attempting to Undermine Probes Into His Scandals

Churchill: Cuomo is undermining the investigation he (supposedly) wanted

In this op-ed, Chris Churchill focuses on why the Cuomo administration is spending so much time attacking the motives of New York State Attorney General Letitia "Tish" James as it refuses to provide any evidence to support its claims.

Team Cuomo says Letitia James is considering a run for governor. You'll have to take the Cuomo administration's word for it, though, because New York's attorney general has said no such thing. Not publicly, at least.

"She says she may run against the governor," Richard Azzopardi, Cuomo's communications director tweeted last week, without providing evidence for an assertion he's made before.

Don't fall for this. The claims are only the Cuomo administration's ongoing attempt to discredit the investigation into sexual harassment claims against the governor — an investigation James is overseeing, of course. Suggesting the effort is politically motivated is a predictable survival strategy borne out of desperation.

Azzopardi also claimed last week, again without evidence, that James' office had leaked that Cuomo would be interviewed by investigators Saturday. The alleged leak, Azzopardi claimed, was an attempt to distract from news that James had raised less in campaign donations than Cuomo's usual total when he was AG.

"Viewing these facts separate from today's convenient leak in a vacuum would be quite a leap," Azzopardi tweeted, later adding that the leak "was to distract from this showing."

The reasoning is bizarre. I mean, someone could just as easy claim Azzopardi's attention-grabbing attack was designed to distract from Cuomo's having raised far less in newly reported numbers than U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, his likely Republican challenger. After all, Cuomo's poor haul — $2.3 million, compared to $4 million for Zeldin — is evidence that his many scandals are having an impact.

Consider what Azzopardi might have said had James raised more: See, she is running for governor! Why else would she be raising so much money!? James couldn't win.

On Monday, I asked Azzopardi about his claims, and he responded with an expletive-laced rant that isn't worth mentioning here, except to note that it included no actual evidence of James' gubernatorial ambitions. Surprise, surprise.

Have we ever mentioned that Governor Cuomo has been seeking better PR people and more legal help?

There's more, including examples of how Andrew M. Cuomo has dealt with previous investigations into his administration, but we'll close with Churchill's final observation:

Of course, we don't know what James' investigation has found. We don't know if it will be damning for the governor, who says he never touched the women inappropriately. Maybe it will find that the allegations aren't as bad as they seem.

But judging from Azzopardi's aggression, we can presume the administration is worried by what investigators are asking. Team Cuomo doesn't like where this is going, so it's returning to a favorite tactic: Attack, attack, and attack some more.