The Supreme Court on Monday heard arguments in a case surrounding former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo‘s ex-aide Joseph Percoco and whether he was lawfully convicted on a federal bribery charge as justices consider if new limits should be imposed on public corruption prosecutions.
Justices heard the Empire State corruption case on Monday, which focuses on whether Percoco’s decision to receive a $35,000 payment from a real estate developer while managing Cuomo’s reelection campaign in 2014 falls under a federal law that requires that “honest services” be provided to the public. Attorneys for the former aide argue that because Percoco wasn’t a government employee at the time, he was not obligated to provide honest services.
CUOMO AIDE BRIBERY CHARGES TO BE REVIEWED BY SUPREME COURT IN HISTORIC APPEAL
“When a public official accepts money to convince the government to do something, we call him a crook. But when a private citizen accepts money to convince the government to do something, we call him a lobbyist,” according to Percoco’s certiorari brief to the high court.
Justice Elena Kagan raised a hypothetical in response to Percoco’s standpoint, asking about a situation in which a public official resigns from his or her position each time he or she wishes to accept a bribe, then resumed official duties immediately after the bribe is completed.
The Biden administration defended the conviction, which was argued by Assistant to the Solicitor General Nicole Reaves for the Justice Department. Justice Clarence Thomas pressed Reaves about the absence of a state prosecution for Percoco, saying it’s an indication that “New York isn’t too upset about this arrangement.”
“It seems as though we are using a federal law to impose ethical standards on state activity,” Thomas said.
Thomas’s line of questioning was a common theme among most of the nine high court justices, who appeared somewhat aligned with skepticism about the federal government’s arguments despite the ideological differences of the court.
The Supreme Court has narrowed the reach of federal corruption laws in recent time, such as removing the convictions of former Gov. Bob McDonnell (R-VA) in 2016 and two confidantes of former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) for the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal in 2020.
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The government contends that Percoco was effectively still serving in his role as Cuomo’s executive deputy secretary and operating out of his government offices while issuing instructions to the governor’s staff. Percoco returned to the job one month after Cuomo was reelected.
Percoco was convicted of honest services fraud and solicitation of bribes and gratuities in 2018 and sentenced to six years in prison. The former aide was released after serving just a third of his six-year prison term.
