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 variety of recent 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 Home Scandals
The pinnacle of the Judiciary Committee advised Kramer the report will drive a stake by any future political ambitions Cuomo harbors in his coronary heart.
Net Further: Read the report (pdf)
“There are fixed reviews that he needs to run for workplace once more, both as legal professional common or governor or one thing. Do you suppose 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 just isn’t match for public workplace,” stated 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 stated in a press release.
Zeldin additionally tried to hog-tie Gov. Kathy Hochul to Cuomo, although 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 stated.
However Hochul was having none of it.
“We’ve modified the tradition from day one. A tradition of transparency, accountability and making certain 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 stated.
The report on Cuomo’s habits in workplace concerned interviews and depositions from greater than 200 folks, starting from the ladies he’s accused of sexually abusing, allegations in regards to the underreporting of nursing house deaths, and the large 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 Book Deal
The report fees that Cuomo concerned many in his administration within the $5.2 million pandemic e-book undertaking. For instance, one night time 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 better function than secretary to the governor Melissa DeRosa, who was recognized by sources because the senior government 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 government chamber was purported 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 totally and utterly disregarded,” Lavine stated.
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 atmosphere. And it’s a really unhappy piece of New York state historical past,” Lavine stated.
A Cuomo spokesman described the report as “hypocritical,” since “the Meeting successfully forces staff to volunteer on their political partisan campaigns as customary apply.”
Of their conclusion, the authors stated Cuomo:
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Engaged in a number of situations of sexual harassment, together with by making a hostile work atmosphere and fascinating in sexual misconduct
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Utilized state assets and property, together with work by Government Chamber employees, to write down, publish, and promote his E-book relating to his dealing with of the COVID-19 disaster – a undertaking 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 house residents who died on account of COVID-19.
“As famous, we’re conscious of the continuing legislation enforcement pursuits into a number of of the issues coated 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 Legal professional Common’s politically biased investigation as a foundation goes to be equally flawed. Thus far now we have not been allowed the chance to assessment 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 affords no proof to help any allegation. What’s attention-grabbing is that the Meeting didn’t even attempt to show Tish James’ bogus “11 authorized violations,” and as a substitute solely targeted on two. When all of the details are pretty weighed there will probably be none.
To be clear, the individuals who volunteered to work on the e-book have been folks talked about within the e-book and due to this fact they have been concerned to ensure the representations regarding them have been correct. Employees who volunteered took day off, 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 instances previously. Through 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 for free of charge to the state. Junior employees 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 customary apply 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 employees members who volunteer to work on their campaigns and if not why not?
They apparently couldn’t discover a comparable distraction from precedence testing after we identified the hypocrisy that a number of Meeting members, together with members of this very committee, together with employees and relations, have been offered 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, employees and relations obtained precedence testing. They have been extremely crucial of precedence testing, however are actually silent on who of their home obtained such testing. They need to cease their cover-up.
The conclusions that the DOH report on nursing house 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 secure on no account 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. Legal professional 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 also be facing criminal charges stemming from an allegation he groped Commisso on the Government Mansion in 2019.
MORE NEWS: Andrew Cuomo Sexual Harassment Investigation Transcripts Released
Final week, the New York state Joint Commission on Public Ethics voted to rescind its approval of Cuomo’s book deal.
