Cuomo lawsuit alleges New York ethics panel probing book deal is unconstitutional

ALBANY — Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is suing New York’s newly formed ethics panel, arguing the watchdog group is unconstitutional as it revives an investigation into his alleged improper use of state staff and resources while writing his pandemic-focused memoir.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Albany Supreme Court, reveals that the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government has been in contact with Cuomo about the $5.1 million he received from the book deal.

Cuomo’s suit argues that the ethics entity, created in last year’s state budget, is inherently unconstitutional since it is tasked with powers reserved for the executive branch but operates independently.

The panel, referred to as COELIG, is “as constitutionally grotesque as it is unprecedented — a misshapen constitutional monstrosity designed to bypass the separation of powers,” the suit alleges.

The 11-member commission replaced the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, or JCOPE, which was often criticized for being too close to Cuomo while he was governor.

Following his 2021 resignation amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment from staffers and other women, the since-disbanded JCOPE determined Cuomo violated state ethics laws by improperly using state resources when writing the memoir, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic.”

JCOPE attempted to seize Cuomo’s book profits, but an Albany judge ruled last summer that the panel’s actions against the ex-governor violated due process by not following the proper procedures and overstepping its authority.

According to the suit, COELIG is attempting to move forward with enforcement actions based on JCOPE’s book probe and a hearing is scheduled on the matter for June 12.

Cuomo has maintained that any state employees who worked on the book did so voluntarily and on their own time and he’s also denied any wrongdoing with regards to the harassment and misconduct allegations.

The disgraced Democrat and his supporters have painted probes into his behavior and alleged misdeeds as purely political.

“The lawsuit speaks for itself, but there’s clearly been politics behind all of this,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said.

The suit further argues that the act creating the commission violated “foundational separation-of-powers principles and the civil department structure” set forth in the state constitution.

“In extraordinary and unprecedented ways, the act flouts these long-established and sacrosanct principles of the constitutional structure that are designed to protect the liberty interests of New Yorkers,” the suit states.

The act creating the panel also deprive a sitting governor of “any authority whatsoever-direct or indirect-to remove COELIG’s members or its executive director,” according to the suit.

“By design, the Act divests the executive branch of supervision over COELIG and renders it immune to executive supervision and control,” Cuomo’s lawyers argue.

The former governor has had a complicated relationship with ethics commissions.

JCOPE was created in 2011 to oversee and enforce the state’s ethics and lobbying laws. Critics often panned the panel as toothless and too close to Cuomo for comfort.

A report released last summer detailed how Cuomo and his administration strong-armed JCOPE staff into approving his book deal.

A year earlier, commissioners on the panel referred an investigation to Attorney General Letitia James’ office related to an alleged leak stemming from a probe into Joe Percoco, a former Cuomo aide who was convicted in a wide-ranging bribery and bid rigging scandal. James declined to take up the investigation, determining that the referral process was not properly followed.

In 2013, the Cuomo administration created the Moreland Commission to probe public corruption, but the panel was abruptly disbanded a year later when ethics reforms were bundled into the state budget.

The current commission technically operates under the umbrella of the Department of State but members and the executive director can only be removed by a majority vote of the members themselves, the suit notes.

The lawsuit seeks to have the act creating the commission declared unconstitutional and to bar the panel from taking any enforcement actions as well as covering Cuomo’s attorney fees and court costs.

A spokeswoman for the commission said they do not comment on pending litigation.