MEDIA LOSER:
Andrew Cuomo Disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo was ordered on Tuesday to return $5.1 million in profits from a book deal that the state ethics board ruled is in violation of state ethics laws. The Joint Commission on Public Ethics gave Cuomo thirty days to forfeit the income one month after the same watchdog panel voted to revoke its prior ruling allowing Cuomo to earn outside income from his book titled American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the Covid-19 Pandemic. The panel concluded that Cuomo violated stipulations barring him from using state resources, including government-paid staffers, in the drafting of the book. The New York Assembly released a report in late November detailing how Cuomo “used state resources” and staff to “write, publish and promote” the book. Ex-CNN anchor Chris Cuomo lost his book deal recently, too. The report also detailed how the book was being used to spin unfavorable coverage surrounding the then-governor and his policies regarding Covid-19 and nursing homes. The report added, “we are mindful of ongoing law enforcement issues regarding these issues.” “The investigation showed that as they were considering these matters, the book deal was going on, there’s a chapter in the book about nursing homes. They were trying to make it as what they thought was least damaging to the governor instead of just telling the truth,” Assembly Member Phil Steck, a Democrat, told the AP at the time. Both the former governor and his brother the former journalist were lampooned by Saturday Night Live last week. As media figures, the pair are obviously having a bad month, and judging by the book problems, that may be a continuing trend in months ahead. | 