Still in the dark
Ethics commissioner says he’s waiting for details on Cuomo’s “American Crisis”
Ethics commissioner waiting for details on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s book deal.
It’s not just the general public that’s in the dark on details of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s book deal: Even some members of the state Joint Commission on Public Ethics are having trouble getting information.
For the past six weeks, JCOPE Commissioner Gary Lavine has been trying to get JCOPE’S new chair, Camille Joseph Varlack, to provide commissioners with additional information about the publication of the book, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.” JCOPE commissioners are supposed to have oversight of New York public officials’ requests to earn outside income.
Lavine, an appointee of state Senate Republicans, told the Times Union that Varlack’s response has been that she’s still getting up to speed in her new role — and has not provided anything yet.
“It’s a gigantic taffy pull — just stretch out everything,” Lavine said. “And that’s what Varlack is doing.”
JCOPE commissioners never voted to approve Cuomo’s book deal. Instead, last summer, the governor’s request was approved solely by the commission’s staff.
Since then, JCOPE commissioners have had access to some materials, including the letter written by Cuomo’s governmental counsel seeking approval, and the letter from JCOPE staff granting Cuomo the approval. It’s not entirely clear what additional information was the basis for the JCOPE staff ’s approval of the book deal, however, and Varlack has so far declined to share any information.
During the public portion of a commission meeting in August 2020, former chairman Michael Rozen stated that there was a single matter — which he did not identify — on which he had been provided information not available to other JCOPE commissioners. Lavine strongly believes Rozen was referring to Cuomo’s book deal, though he does not know it for certain.
In early February, Rozen abruptly resigned from JCOPE for reasons that remain unclear. Cuomo replaced him with Varlack, a former staffer in Cuomo’s office who ran a program that sought to minimize the public release of damaging information about the administration.
Lavine said Rozen’s exclusive knowledge was an example of what he termed a “super-commission” within JCOPE made up of the governor’s Democratic appointees that get more information than other commissioners.
“They have a cohort of ‘supercommissioners’ that are getting information that should be disseminated to all of us,” Lavine said. “We have no information about the book other than the request and the granting of permission.”
Other legislatively appointed commissioners have made similar criticisms about Cuomo appointees gaining exclusive knowledge. Those criticisms date back to 2012, a year after the body was formed.
In a statement, Varlack said that discussions about any request to earn outside income should remain confidential. “The commission is barred from commenting on any specific request for guidance,” she said. “This is — and has always been — confidential under Executive Law ...”
Cuomo’s office has stonewalled media requests for information about the book deal. In November, the Times Union filed a Freedom of Information Law request seeking the materials his office submitted to JCOPE during the approval process, as well as the panel’s approval letter.
The Times Union has since filed four appeals arguing the months-long delays in providing a few pages of records are unreasonable. A Cuomo counsel, Valerie Lubanko, has rejected them, arguing the COVID-19 pandemic is a valid reason for the delays. Yet during the pandemic, Cuomo had time to write the 320-page book.
The Buffalo News also filed a request seeking JCOPE’S approval letter in August, and has been similarly thwarted.
It’s so far unclear how much Cuomo earned for writing the book. Vanity Fair reported it sold for a sum in the “low to midseven figures” which the magazine termed “a blockbuster sum by industry standards.” Cuomo has declined to address the question, stating that it will be answered when his annual financial disclosure form becomes public in May.
When a state government employee seeks to earn outside income, they’re required to answer a few questions in writing, then submit the information to JCOPE. Those rules date back to at least 1990, according to a spokesman for the ethics panel.
But the Times Union found that in 2012, when Cuomo sought approval for his first book as governor, “All Things Possible,” the letter that Cuomo’s government counsel submitted to JCOPE did not have all the required answers.
Richard Azzopardi, a Cuomo senior advisor, said in February that before the publication of “American Crisis,” all information “required and requested was provided and approval was granted just as it was for the last book in 2012.”
Azzopardi would not directly answer a question, however, about whether Cuomo’s office provided all information that JCOPE’S website says is required, including the hours that Cuomo planned to work each week on the book.
“American Crisis” sold well in its first months of release, but the recent scandals that have enveloped Cuomo’s administration have proven challenging for its publisher, Crown. The company announced earlier this month that it had no plans to reprint the title or release it in paperback — a decision it said was directly related to the ongoing federal investigation of the administration’s decision to stonewall data on the impact of COVID-19 in nursing homes.