New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is the subject of an investigation by the state’s attorney general concerning his office’s alleged use of state staff to help write and promote his book about the Covid-19 pandemic, the New York Times reports.
The investigation was spurred by a letter from New York’s comptroller, Thomas DiNapoli, to the state’s attorney general, Letitia James.
News of the investigation comes just weeks after the Times reported that Cuomo’s office asked staff to help produce his book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic, for which he reportedly received a $4 million advance. The book’s publisher, Crown, said last month it would not promote or reprint the book in the wake of two scandals that have engulfed Cuomo, one regarding the supposed undercounting of Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes, and the other involving several accusations of sexual harassment against the governor.
In his letter to James, DiNapoli wrote, “Allegations have recently emerged that public resources may have been used in the development and promotion of the governor’s book,” the Times Union reports.
Cuomo adviser Richard Azzopardi blasted the investigation, saying, “We have officially jumped the shark—the idea there was criminality involved here is patently absurd on its face and is just the furthering of a political pile-on.”
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
