The ethics watchdog that sued Cuomo is unconstitutional

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A state commission to investigate ethics violations in New York was unconstitutionally created, an appeals court said Thursday in a ruling in favor of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo which targets the enforcement powers of the oversight agency.

Cuomo is fighting in court an attempt by the State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government to force him to forfeit $5 million he received for writing a book about his administration’s efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cuomo argues the commission does not have the authority under the state constitution to sue him.

The state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division unanimously upheld a lower court’s ruling in favor of Cuomo, with the justices writing that the panel’s creation “while well-intentioned in its actions, violated the fundamental principles of separation of powers.

In a joint statement, the ethics commission’s chair and executive director said they would seek to appeal the decision to the state’s highest court and put the decision on hold while litigation continues.

“The Commission will continue to promote compliance with state ethics and lobbying laws as this case progresses through the appeals process,” said Chairman Frederick A. Davie and Executive Director Sanford N. Berland.

The commission was created by the Legislature and current Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2022 to investigate possible ethics and lobbying violations by state officials, employees, lobbyists and their clients.

It replaced a previous ethics commission widely criticized for its lack of independence. Lawmakers said they wanted to restore public trust in government after Cuomo resigned in 2021 following a sexual harassment scandal.

A lower court judge ruled in September that the law creating the commission made it too independent of the governor under the state constitution. The judge said enforcement of ethics laws is a power that belongs to the executive branch, but the governor cannot control commission members, force them to explain their actions or remove them for neglecting their homework.

“This has been a three-year exercise in adapting the law to the political will of those responsible and, hopefully, after this second – and unanimous – court decision, these partisan and baseless lawsuits will finally come to an end,” said the Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi. a statement after Thursday’s decision.

Cuomo fought both that commission and its predecessor, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, over revenue from his books. State officials said Cuomo failed to keep his promise not to use public resources for the book. Cuomo has denied the allegations.

Cuomo resigned in August 2021 after the attorney general released the results of an investigation concluding that the then-governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women. Cuomo has denied the allegations.