Scandal-prone Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing an ethics complaint from a liberal watchdog group alleging the Democrat used his campaign organization to promote his book about his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington submitted the grievance on April 1 to the New York State Board of Elections, seeking an investigation into whether Cuomo violated a law that prohibits “the use of campaign funds for personal use.”
The governor used his campaign, Cuomo for New York, to advertise his biography, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, the group said. CREW cited an archived fundraising email, which claimed to be from his daughters, Cara, Mariah, and Michaela, that said Cuomo’s book “will be published this week.” The message also included a link to purchase the book.
“Dad’s new book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from COVID-19 Pandemic, will be published this week,” the email read. “The book tells the story of how his team and all New Yorkers met the moment when the pandemic hit our state. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did. You can order your copy here.”
The email continued: “Dad is the first to say the fight against this virus is not over. But the lessons learned over phase one provide the roadmap we as a country — and we as individuals — can follow now and in the future. Reading this book will provide a better understanding of how we can fight this pandemic, meet unprecedented challenges and reinvigorate our faith in the goodness of people.”
The bottom of the email stated, “Paid for by Andrew Cuomo for New York, Inc.”
The watchdog added that Cuomo’s campaign “promoted sales of the book extensively on social media,” including at least four times on Facebook. In one post, the page posted a link to Amazon for purchase and wrote, “I know we have COVID fatigue, but it isn’t time to quit fighting. Let’s learn the lessons of the Spring to be smart in fighting back this virus now. Thank you for reading.”
At least five similar alleged offenses were noted on Instagram, and several took place on Twitter, the group wrote.
“Governor Cuomo almost certainly earned income from sales of his book,” CREW said in the complaint. “Governor Cuomo has refused to release details about his book contract.”
“Cuomo for New York appears to have converted campaign funds to personal use by promoting sales of Governor Cuomo’s book through emails and social media posts. A campaign’s mailing list is an asset that has value — those lists are regularly sold or rented. By using its mailing list to promote sales of the book, Cuomo for New York used campaign funds for Governor Cuomo’s personal benefit,” CREW said, adding that similar abuses were observed on social media.
The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
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Cuomo is facing bipartisan calls to resign over other controversies that have emerged in recent months.
Several women, many of them former aides, have accused Cuomo of sexual misconduct. The governor has denied any allegations of inappropriate touching, but he has apologized if he made anyone feel uncomfortable. He also says he will not resign. The allegations are under investigation by the New York attorney general. They are also the subject of an impeachment investigation in the New York State Assembly.
Separately, Cuomo is under federal investigation over his handling of nursing homes throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the New York Times, Cuomo sought a $4 million book deal while his aides worked to cover up a Health Department report of nursing home deaths related to the coronavirus.
