8 February 2022: Ethics Groups Want Probe of Cuomo Influence Network Members

Ethics groups want investigation of free help Cuomo received

The Cuomo Influence Network is the name we use to describe former staffers of Andrew M. Cuomo's administration who left the disgraced governor's office to work in media or activist organizations who continued to prioritize Cuomo's political interests over those of their new employers. This report reveals that several good government groups want an investigation of the free labor and aid they provided to Cuomo as he tried to discredit the multiple women who accused him of sexual harassing them.

Here's an excerpt covering the argument Cuomo's defense team is presenting to avoid facing penalties, along with the arguments by the good government groups saying both Cuomo and the members of his influence network should face penalties:

When Cuomo’s first accusers came forward, he turned to a team of outside advisers — former members of his administration — who provided the Democrat with strategic advice and public relations help.

Several of those ex-aides worked for companies that lobby the state or have had state contracts.

New York’s gift ban doesn’t apply to family members or friends, and Cuomo’s attorney, Jim McGuire, said simply seeking advice from longtime allies in a crisis breaks no law.

“Every elected official, every politician, every person has a kitchen cabinet they rely on,” McGuire said. “It’s called having friends.”

New York Public Interest Research Group Executive Director Blair Horner said ethics officials should investigate.

“If the governor’s getting free professional consulting in this capacity and he is an elected official, that should be prohibited under the law,” Horner said. “They’re giving free professional advice to the governor and normally they would charge.”...

Ethics experts said it doesn’t matter if employees were acting independently of their companies on personal time. They are still subject to the ban on gifts.

“As a lobbyist, giving your professional services without charge obviously is prohibited, in fact it’s a misdemeanor, it’s a crime,” David Grandeau, New York’s former top ethics regulator, said. “The laws are crystal clear. The problem is with the people enforcing and interpreting those laws.”

The report concludes that the ethics groups don't expect the New York's Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) to address the conduct given its ongoing organizational and institutional problems.