Today in Schadenfreude

The New York State ethics panel has announced that Andrew Cuomo may have to forfeit the millions of dollars he received for his "memoir" about his handling of Covid.

It appears that he was granted a waiver on the basis of a promise that he would write on his own time without the use of state resources, and he lied about both of these conditions:

Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo could be forced to forfeit millions of dollars that he earned from his 2020 pandemic memoir after a state ethics board on Tuesday voted to revoke its authorization for the book.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics accused Mr. Cuomo of essentially obtaining approval under false pretenses, including breaking his promise not to use state resources toward completion of the memoir.

“Contrary to the representations made on behalf of Governor Cuomo and not disclosed to the commission, state property, resources and personnel, including staff volunteers, were used in connection with the preparation, writing, editing and publication of the book,” according to a resolution that was approved by a 12-to-1 vote.

The commission also noted several misrepresentations in Mr. Cuomo’s request for the ethics commission’s approval, including the nature of the book’s subject matter and how far along the project was at the time of the request. It also noted that the full financial details of the deal and contract had been withheld from the panel.

Legal experts said that the governor would most likely have the opportunity to reapply to the board for its approval; if the board rejected Mr. Cuomo’s application, it could order him to surrender book profits or face separate penalties.

In a statement, Mr. Cuomo characterized the decision as “the height of hypocrisy” and “a political game,” reiterating that any staff who assisted with the book project did so on their own time.

………

For months, Mr. Cuomo refused to divulge how much he had been paid by his publisher, Crown, even as investigators scrutinized whether he had illegally used state resources to write and promote the book.

………

The state attorney general’s office is investigating Mr. Cuomo’s use of state resources for the writing and editing of his book. The New York Times and others have reported that top aides were involved with the production of the manuscript, even attending meetings with the publisher — a possible violation of state law that forbids the use of public resources for personal gain.

Oh the humanity.

This is a right and proper rat-f%$#ing for a right and proper rat.