ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — The New York State Meeting Judiciary Committee launched the findings of its investigation into former Gov. Andrew Cuomo Monday, producing contemporary allegations to put at Cuomo’s doorstep.
As CBS2’s Marcia Kramer reported, there are a selection of latest particulars, which deal not solely with sexual harassment allegations, however the ex-governor’s mega-million greenback e-book deal and the state staff he ordered to work to convey the e-book to market.
READ MORE: TIMELINE: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Resigns In Wake Of Sexual Harassment, Nursing Residence Scandals
The top of the Judiciary Committee instructed Kramer the report will drive a stake by means of any future political ambitions Cuomo harbors in his coronary heart.
Net Further: Learn the report (pdf)
“There are fixed reviews that he desires to run for workplace once more, both as legal professional normal or governor or one thing. Do you assume this disqualifies him from any additional makes an attempt to have a statewide workplace, or any workplace?” Kramer requested.
“I believe the report establishes conclusively that Andrew Cuomo is just not match for public workplace,” mentioned Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Lavine.
GOP gubernatorial candidate and Congressman Lee Zeldin tried to attain political factors.
“Regardless of having this overwhelming proof to substantiate this misconduct, the New York State Legislature did nothing, letting him off scot-free to resign on his personal phrases and proceed his assaults and efforts to undermine his victims,” Zeldin mentioned in a press release.
Zeldin additionally tried to hog-tie Gov. Kathy Hochul to Cuomo, though it was well-known that Cuomo and his then-lieutenant governor have been removed from kissing cousins.
“We’re now left with Cuomo’s lieutenant, who was both complicit or out to lunch from scandal to scandal, empowering this disgusting habits whereas Andrew Cuomo cultivated a poisonous and lethal tradition, leaving a path of victims in its wake,” Zeldin mentioned.
However Hochul was having none of it.
“We’ve modified the tradition from day one. A tradition of transparency, accountability and guaranteeing that everybody feels revered within the workforce. So anybody who works for our administration is aware of that it’s a complete new day, and I’m happy with that,” Hochul mentioned.
The report on Cuomo’s habits in workplace concerned interviews and depositions from greater than 200 individuals, starting from the ladies he’s accused of sexually abusing, allegations in regards to the underreporting of nursing residence deaths, and the massive function reportedly performed by members of his administration in arranging, typing enhancing, and weighing in on his e-book.
READ MORE: State Ethics Committee Votes To Rescind Approval Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s E book Deal
The report prices that Cuomo concerned many in his administration within the $5.2 million pandemic e-book challenge. For instance, one evening 5 junior staffers have been ordered to compile supplies associated to his COVID press briefings on a “non-voluntary foundation.” It took them a number of hours to finish, the report alleges.
However nobody appears to have had a larger function than secretary to the governor Melissa DeRosa, who was recognized by sources because the senior govt chamber official within the report who served “as the important thing level of contact for the e-book, and despatched and obtained no less than 1,000 emails relating to the e-book.”
“Nobody within the govt chamber was imagined to have labored on that e-book. No stage amenities have been to have been used within the preproduction of the e-book that was completely and fully disregarded,” Lavine mentioned.
The report included salacious particulars referring to the allegations of sexual abuse, together with a feminine state trooper the governor allegedly touched “inappropriately on a number of events.”
“It’s conduct unbecoming. We wouldn’t need our sisters, we wouldn’t need our daughters working in any such surroundings. And it’s a really unhappy piece of New York state historical past,” Lavine mentioned.
A Cuomo spokesman described the report as “hypocritical,” since “the Meeting successfully forces staff to volunteer on their political partisan campaigns as commonplace follow.”
Of their conclusion, the authors mentioned Cuomo:
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Engaged in a number of cases of sexual harassment, together with by making a hostile work surroundings and fascinating in sexual misconduct
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Utilized state assets and property, together with work by Government Chamber workers, to put in writing, publish, and promote his E book relating to his dealing with of the COVID-19 disaster – a challenge for which he was assured no less than $5.2 million in private revenue; and on the identical time
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Was not totally clear relating to the variety of nursing residence residents who died because of COVID-19.
“As famous, we’re aware of the continuing regulation enforcement pursuits into a number of of the issues lined on this report. Now we have ready this report with these pursuits in thoughts and we’re cooperating with any such investigations,” they wrote.
Cuomo’s spokesperson issued a press release in response to the report, calling it, amongst different issues, “revisionist.”
Any report that makes use of the Lawyer Common’s politically biased investigation as a foundation goes to be equally flawed. So far now we have not been allowed the chance to overview proof within the Meeting’s possession, regardless of requests to take action and due course of was definitely not afforded right here.
As soon as once more, the truth that an worker entered and exited the Government Mansion as a part of her job was by no means in dispute and as soon as once more this report presents no proof to assist any allegation. What’s fascinating is that the Meeting didn’t even attempt to show Tish James’ bogus “11 authorized violations,” and as a substitute solely centered on two. When all of the information are pretty weighed there shall be none.
To be clear, the individuals who volunteered to work on the e-book have been individuals talked about within the e-book and subsequently they have been concerned to verify the representations regarding them have been correct. Employees who volunteered took time without work, evidencing that they have been volunteering and never on state time. Any suggestion on the contrary is Meeting hype. The individuals who volunteered have been senior members within the administration and have been extremely refined by way of official actions and volunteer actions and had carried out each many occasions prior to now. Throughout the time interval in query Robert Mujica, Beth Garvey, James Malatras, Melissa DeRosa, Gareth Rhodes, and Stephanie Benton, all talked about within the e-book, reviewed it without charge to the state. Junior workers engaged on Covid supplies weren’t serving to on the e-book, however have been serving to on the state’s Covid response.
The Meeting report is hypocritical, revisionist and damns themselves because the Meeting successfully forces staff to volunteer on their political partisan campaigns as commonplace follow and in the event that they need to debate it we welcome it. Allow them to begin by disclosing which staffers additionally do political work. Will the Judiciary committee members that raised the difficulty disclose their workers members who volunteer to work on their campaigns and if not why not?
They apparently couldn’t discover a related distraction from precedence testing after we identified the hypocrisy that a number of Meeting members, together with members of this very committee, together with workers and members of the family, have been supplied testing when requested. That’s why the matter was dropped altogether from the report. Nonetheless, the Meeting’s duplicity should not be allowed to go unanswered. They need to disclose what members, workers and members of the family obtained precedence testing. They have been extremely vital of precedence testing, however at the moment are silent on who of their home obtained such testing. They need to cease their cover-up.
The conclusions that the DOH report on nursing residence COVID transmissions was correct, that there was no proof that the March 25 order resulted in extra fatalities and that we obtained fixed reassurances from the Thruway Authority that the bridge was protected not at all means that this was a good and balanced report.
The reality will come out.
This isn’t the ultimate chapter within the Cuomo saga. The U.S. Lawyer in Brooklyn is investigating Cuomo, as are a number of district attorneys, together with Westchester prosecutors who’re reportedly wanting on the allegation made by the state trooper.
Cuomo can be dealing with prison prices stemming from an allegation he groped Commisso on the Government Mansion in 2019.
MORE NEWS: Andrew Cuomo Sexual Harassment Investigation Transcripts Launched
Final week, the New York state Joint Fee on Public Ethics voted to rescind its approval of Cuomo’s e-book deal.
