Andrew Cuomo has to return his $5.1 million book profits to the state of New York.
Look, we know we said we were out of the Cuomo book news game, but here, at last, we have the perfect capper to the long, slow death rattle of Cuomosexuality: New York’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics has ordered the disgraced former governor to return the $5.1 million in profits from his book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, to the state.
Last month, the New York State Assembly released its impeachment investigation, which found (among other things) that Cuomo used state staff to author and promote the book:
One senior state official referred to work on the Book as no different from any other assignment he received from the Executive Chamber during COVID. The state official explained that Book-related assignments were given by superiors and were expected to be completed like any other task. He further explained that the work was not voluntary, as he was never asked to volunteer and was not aware of other officials being asked to volunteer.
(Despite the ill-gotten hard work of state employees, the book had sold fewer than 50,000 hardcover copies as of July.)
Thought the Commission had previously granted Cuomo approval to earn outside income from the book, it revoked that approval today and ordered that Cuomo turn the money over to AG Letitia James.
It’s up to James to determine what to do with that money, but I would humbly suggest not returning it to Penguin Random House. Otherwise, how will they learn?
[via the New York Post]
