Andrew Cuomo has gone back to court to try to stop New York's ethics watchdog from moving forward with a case tied to his pandemic-era memoir, asking a state judge to halt the proceeding entirely. The former governor argues the commission is trying to punish him over fraud-like allegations without a jury trial.
According to Law.com/New York Law Journal, Cuomo argued that the State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government is attempting to adjudicate fraud-like allegations without a jury trial. In his constitutional argument, Cuomo contends that such allegations should be decided by a jury rather than an internal administrative hearing. The commission, for its part, is weighing statutory ethics charges that it maintains may be adjudicated administratively, the outlet reported.
The fight traces back to Cuomo's deal to write a book about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Accounts of the deal's value have varied: The New York Times has described it as a $5.1 million book deal, while Politico reported a $5 million deal and said Cuomo earned $5.1 million. A predecessor ethics body concluded that Cuomo had improperly used state resources while writing the 2020 memoir and tried to force him to repay the $5.1 million he earned, Politico reported. Cuomo has denied using state resources for the project, saying staff members volunteered their time.
Years of Legal Back-and-Forth Over the Commission's Power
This is far from the first time Cuomo has tried to knock out the body investigating him. A 2024 ruling from the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court held 5-0 that the Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government was unconstitutional and could not force Cuomo to forfeit the $5.1 million tied to his book, per Newsday's reporting. That court found the commission's structure for appointing and removing members violated separation-of-powers guarantees in the state constitution, and concluded the agency therefore had no power to pursue the case against Cuomo at all.
The dispute did not end there, however, since New York's Court of Appeals later took up the question of whether the commission could exist in the first place.
The Court of Appeals Keeps the Commission Alive
In February 2025, New York's highest court rejected Cuomo's effort to dismantle the commission, ruling that its creation was constitutional, the Times reported. The decision split the court 4-3 and rejected Cuomo's constitutional challenge to the commission. The majority acknowledged the law creating the commission came very close to the boundary of permissible legislation, but it rejected Cuomo's claim that the body was effectively controlled by legislative agents, the Times noted.
That ruling meant the commission, created under a 2022 law and made up of 11 members, could resume its investigation into Cuomo's memoir deal, Politico reported. A summary from the New York State Court of Appeals noted that the commission's predecessor, known as JCOPE, was disbanded before resolving the charges against Cuomo, but the newer commission elected to proceed with the case anyway.
Cuomo's latest filing effectively reopens a years-long argument over whether that same commission can act as judge and jury on allegations carrying steep financial consequences. The underlying legal question — whether fraud-like claims paired with potential monetary penalties must go before a jury rather than an administrative panel — remains the crux of his newest challenge.
