Andrew Cuomo Scores $5 Million Court Victory in Legal Upset

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo scored a legal victory in his book lawsuit after a state judge ruled Monday he should be allowed to keep his $5.1 million payout from a pandemic-era memoir.

In ruling in Cuomo's favor, New York State Supreme Court Justice Thomas Marcelle struck down the state ethics commission's enforcement powers and said that its creation was unconstitutional. A spokesperson for New York Governor Kathy Hochul confirmed to Newsweek her office will work with the panel to appeal the ruling.

"As we've said all along, this was nothing more than an attack by those who abused their government positions unethically and—as the judge ruled today—unconstitutionally for political purposes," Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said in a statement.

"Those in Albany who created this farce of a commission may not care about—or know—the law, but whether it was five district attorneys rejecting the Attorney General's sham report's findings or the courts, every time someone charged with upholding the law looks at the facts we prevail," Azzopardi said. "Truth and reason won, mob rule lost today."

Cuomo, who received national praise for his handling of the pandemic in his state, suffered a fall from grace two years ago after it was discovered that his administration covered up information related to COVID deaths in the state's nursing homes. He was also at the center of controversy for allegedly misusing state employees and resources for the book, according to a report by an independent law firm. Around the same time, nearly a dozen women came forward with sexual assault allegations, which culminated in his decision to resign in August 2021, although he maintained his innocence and denied any wrongdoing.

In his farewell remarks, Cuomo called Attorney General Letitia James' report, which found that he harassed 11 women and retaliated against a former employee who came forward, "a political and media stampede."

"The truth will out in time. Of that, I am confident," he said.

Although the state's Joint Commission on Public Ethics initially approved Cuomo's deal for the book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic, it reversed its position in 2021 and ordered the then-governor to hand over the proceeds. After Hochul, Cuomo's successor, took office, she disbanded the commission over transparency concerns and formed a new panel that continued to investigate the book deal. Cuomo sued both panels.

Hochul spokesperson Avi Small told Newsweek in a statement that "taking office in the midst of scandal and a crisis in state government, Governor Hochul worked with the Legislature to craft a new, truly independent ethics body that could begin to restore New Yorkers' faith in their public officials."

Speaking about Marcelle's decision, Small said, "Today's decision undermines the independent ethics commission created by Governor Hochul and we will work with the Commission to support an appeal."

Monday's ruling is the latest legal victory for Cuomo, who has sought to rebuild his reputation since stepping down as governor. None of the five sexual misconduct investigations opened up by various district attorneys were pursued, and no criminal charges were brought against Cuomo. The probe into his handling of nursing homes during the pandemic ended last year without any charges.

"I was told that after a thorough investigation—as we have said all along—there was no evidence to suggest that any laws were broken," Elkan Abramowitz, a former federal prosecutor representing Cuomo, said in January 2022.