Andrew Cuomo staffers implicated in stonewalling New York corruption commission.

Oh, my.

Oh my, oh my, oh my.

With Albany rocked by a seemingly endless barrage of scandals and arrests, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo set up a high-powered commission last summer to root out corruption in state politics. It was barely two months old when its investigators, hunting for violations of campaign-finance laws, issued a subpoena to a media-buying firm that had placed millions of dollars’ worth of advertisements for the New York State Democratic Party.

The investigators did not realize that the firm, Buying Time, also counted Mr. Cuomo among its clients, having bought the airtime for his campaign when he ran for governor in 2010.

…the New York Times maybe-possibly-glumly goes on at that point; I’ll give the summary, for people who don’t want to click through.  Basically, the governor’s office quashed the subpoena, which was part of a general rule of quietly killing any corruption-related investigation that might have a chance of a possibility of a potential to make Gov. Andrew Cuomo look bad.  And the excuse offered by Gov. Cuomo’s office? “While [Gov. Cuomo] allowed the commission the independence to investigate whatever it wanted, the governor’s office said, it would have been a conflict for a panel he created to investigate his own administration.”

In other words… no, the commission did not have ‘the independence to investigate whatever it wanted.’  It in fact had the independence to investigate whatever Andrew Cuomo wanted, because Governor Andrew Cuomo knows of course that every single member of his administration is a saint upon Earth to rival St. Francis of Assisi, or possibly one of those old-school Eastern Orthodox Stylites. The whole thing is fascinating reading, not least because the whole thing is emblematic of just how much a politician’s own staff can hobble him or her when it comes to policy implementation.  Reading the article, you could argue that Andrew Cuomo wasn’t really aware that his staff was busily spiking the wheels of every corruption investigation that merely could be linked to the governor’s office.  It’s a stretch, but weirder things have happened.  The problem, though, is that the whole thing just simply looks bad – and worse, hypocritical to a remarkable degree.  How bad? This bad:

Maybe, maybe not – but here I thought that it was Andrew Cuomo’s moral peccadilloes that were going to scupper his future Presidential bid. Apparently not; probably because people will forgive a live-in girlfriend far more quickly than they’d forgive a governor who used his office to squash corruption investigations. But certainly Republican candidate for New York Governor Rob Astorino will be hitting this issue with all due speed…

Moe Lane (crosspost)

7 thoughts on “Andrew Cuomo staffers implicated in stonewalling New York corruption commission.”

  2. Again NJ* are pikers compared to NY….
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    *Nah, bridgegate doesn’t even warrant for me. I don’t like Christie for a whole other host of reasons. Corruption ain’t one.

    1. Oh, I’m sure the corruption is there as well, it’s hard to imagine someone rising to power in NJ without it. Just like it’s hard to imagine that happening in Chicago, and in New Orleans.

      1. Christie seems smart enough to keep under the gubernatorial level.
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        Gubernatorial is one of the weirdest words. Weird to say, weird to type.

        1. I agree that Christie should be kept at or below the level of Governor.
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          Mew
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          p.s. yes, I am aware this is likely not what you meant.

  3. And the excuse offered by Gov. Cuomo’s office? “While [Gov. Cuomo] allowed the commission the independence to investigate whatever it wanted, the governor’s office said, it would have been a conflict for a panel he created to investigate his own administration.”
     
    Classical reference required! Wasn’t anyone else reminded of this?

    “Awake! Awake! Fiends! Foes! Flee!” someone was whispering, waking Frito from his dreams. Stomper’s hand jostled him roughly. Obeying him, Frito peered down the slope and made out nine black forms inching stealthily up the mountain toward their hiding place.
     
    “It seemeth that I read the signs awrong,” muttered the perplexed guide. “Soon they will be upon us unless we divert their wrath.”
     
    “How?” asked Pepsi.
     
    “Yes, how?” joined in Guess Who.
     
    Stomper looked at the boggies. “One of the party must stay behind to delay them while we dash for the bridge.”
     
    “But who?”
     
    “Never fear,” said Stomper quickly. “I have here in my gauntlet four lots, three long and a short for him we throw to the — er — for he who will have his name emblazoned in the pantheon of heroes.”
     
    “Four?” said Spam. “What about you?”
     
    The Ranger straightened with great dignity. “Surely,” he said, “you would not wish me an unfair advantage seeing that it was I who made up the lots?”
     
    Mollified, the boggies drew the pipe cleaners. Spam drew the short.

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