New “storm” for Andrew Cuomo: He is asked to return 5.1 million euros from his memoirs

To return the amount of 5.1 million dollars that he received from the publication of his memoirs was ordered yesterday, Tuesday (14/12) by an ethics committee in New York the former governor Andrew Cuomo, because he violated the state code of ethics, according to a representative of the committee.

The Joint Public Ethics Committee (JCOPE) 12 to 1 in favor of a refund from Cuomo, according to the same spokesman. Reuters has not read the entire decision of the same committee.

Cuomo has 30 days to return the money to the state which won from the writing of the book “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic”. The attorney general’s office will decide how the money will be spent, according to an article in The New York Times.

In a statement, Cuomo’s lawyer Jim McGuire he mentioned that will fight against the order. “JCOPE’s actions are unconstitutional, beyond its powers and seem to be guided by political interests and not by facts and law. “In case they seek to enforce the order, we will see them in the courts,” McGuire said, according to the APE-MPE.

In November, the commission assessed that Cuomo had failed to comply with state regulations governing the foreign affairs of public officials, such as writing a book in exchange for copyright or other compensation. According to the same committee, o Cuomo used state resources to complete the writing of the book and lied about the time it took to complete his writing.

Cuomo, who is a Democrat, resigned as governor of the state in August, after multiple complaints of sexual harassment, which he denies.

Cuomo had initially received positive reviews for managing the coronavirus epidemic in New York. However, the positive comments turned into criticism when the media reported the allegations of sexual harassment. Cuomo donated $ 500,000 of his proceeds to charity and pledged $ 1 million to his daughters, according to the Times.