Cuomo Forced To Give Up $5 Million Profits From Pandemic Book

The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) ordered former Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday to pay back over $5 million in book profits, the New York Post reported.

JCOPE approved the resolution on Tuesday in a 12-1 vote, according to the NYP. Cuomo has 30 days to pay back the $5.1 million in proceeds to Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James, who will determine where the money will go.

The resolution follows JCOPE’s vote in November to rescind its decision to allow Cuomo to profit from his book, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic,” while still governor, the NYP reported. The resolution was approved after it was revealed that Cuomo used “staff volunteers” to help create the book.

“JCOPE’s actions today are unconstitutional, exceed its own authority and appear to be driven by political interests rather than the facts and the law,” Jim McGuire, the former governor’s attorney, said. “Should they seek to enforce this action, we’ll see them in court.”