11 November 2021: Bill for NY Assembly's Cuomo Impeachment Probe to Reach $5.12 Million

Andrew Cuomo sex-harass scandal could cost taxpayers $5.1M

The New York Assembly Judiciary Committee has approved an increase in the amount it will be billed by the law firm preparing the report on the findings of its impeachment probe up to $5.12 million. Here's an excerpt from this report:

The state Assembly Judiciary Committee quietly increased the total spending power for its now-defunct impeachment probe of Andrew Cuomo to a whopping $5.1 million in taxpayer funds — the same amount the former governor netted from his under-investigation book deal.

The contract with Davis Polk & Wardwell — the outside law firm hired to assist with the investigation — was amended on Nov. 4 to include an extra $4,870,000, according to records published online by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s Office.

That’s a massive increase from the agreement’s original cap of $250,000 after the contract was first signed on April 20 and 21 — now bringing the contract’s total expected cost to $5,120,000.

That figure is almost certainly not an accident. $5.12 million also happens to be the amount Andrew M. Cuomo will collect from his controversial pandemic "leadership" book deal. Approving this particular increase in the cost of the Assembly's impeachment probe may add strength to the efforts within the state's Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) to claw back Andrew M. Cuomo's book deal proceeds.

It also confirms the report may soon be made public:

Despite the amended cap, records show just $250,000 has actually been spent to date, but Cam Macdonald, an adjunct fellow at the Empire Center for Public Policy, told The Post the increase could indicate roughly eight months worth in back payments to the firm.

“There’s a reason they just bumped this up to over $5 million and it’s probably because the work has been done,” he said.

“You would expect this report to be very comprehensive, very thorough and not to have any holes. In light of the money that’s been spent and the hourly rate that was being charged, quite a few thousand hours of attorney time went into this.”

It's possible the attorneys are discounting their regular billing rates specifically to allow the Assembly to hit this "magic" number.