New York AG taps brakes on effort to seize Cuomo book profits

ALBANY, N.Y. – New York’s ethics commission has more work to do if it wants to seize the millions of dollars former Gov. Andrew Cuomo earned writing a book about the COVID-19 pandemic, the state attorney general’s office said in a letter Thursday.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics on Monday gave Cuomo 30 days to turn over all money he was paid by a publisher for his book “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

The commission, which has regulatory oversight over lobbyists and government officials, concluded Cuomo had improperly gotten help from state employees to write and promote the book, and as such had to forfeit his earnings, which could reach $5.1 million.

In a letter to the commission Thursday, however, the attorney general’s office said more steps had to be taken before it would get involved in trying to collect the money.