New York's ethics watchdog ruled constitutional by state's top court
The Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government had been fighting for its survival after Cuomo's lawyers persuaded lower courts that the panel was given unconstitutional enforcement powers. Cuomo contended that the law creating the agency violated the separation of powers mandated under the state constitution, since enforcing ethics laws is a power that belongs to the executive branch.
A divided Court of Appeals sided with the commission, reversing lower court rulings.
Judge Jenny Rivera wrote in a majority opinion that the law creating the commission gives it narrow powers to avoid having top state officials regulating their own ethics.
'Given the danger of self-regulation, the Legislature and the Governor have determined that there is an urgent need for the robust, impartial enforcement of the State's ethics and lobbying laws,' Rivera wrote.
The commission was formed by the Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul as a more independent alternative to a previous ethics panel widely criticized for being overly beholden to top government officials. It debuted in the wake of Cuomo's 2021 resignation in a sexual harassment scandal.
Cuomo was fighting an attempt by the commission that could force him to forfeit $5 million he got for writing a book about his administration's efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. State officials claim Cuomo hadn't kept a promise not to use any state resources on the book. Cuomo denies those allegations.
A trial court judge sided with Cuomo in 2023, noting that enforcing ethics laws is a power that belongs to the executive branch, yet the governor cannot control ethics commission members, force them to explain their actions or remove them for neglecting their duties, the judge wrote. A mid-level appeals court upheld the judge's ruling in May.
Cuomo resigned in August 2021 after the attorney general released the results of an investigation that concluded he had sexually harassed at least 11 women. Cuomo has denied those allegations.
The commission had been able to continue operating as the court case progressed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
13 minutes ago
- New York Post
White House trolls Mark Hamill over claim he nearly left US after Trump re-election
He's Luke Cry-walker. 'Star Wars' actor Mark Hamill claimed he nearly left America following President Trump's election victory this past November, prompting a sassy response from the White House. The 73-year-old, most famous for his heroic role in George Lucas' trilogy and subsequent films, admitted he was persuaded to stay in the US by his wife, after he gave her a choice of emigrating to either the UK or Ireland. Advertisement 'She's very clever. She didn't respond right away, but a week later she said, 'I'm surprised you would allow him to force you out of your own country,'' Hamill told the Times of London. Mark Hamill admitted he wanted to leave the US after President Trump's reelection. Getty Images 'That son of a b—h, I thought. I'm not leaving.' Advertisement Hamill, who previously lived in London, was an outspoken supporter of former President Joe Biden, and backed Vice President Kamala Harris' failed bid in the 2024 election. The actor's admission prompted a sarcastic riposte from the White House. The Luke Skywalker actor's admission sparked a sarcastic response from the White House. AP 'Since Mark has decided to stay in the United States, he will get to enjoy the many wins President Trump is securing for the American people — and really, who can blame him for second-guessing a plan to move to the same place as Rosie O'Donnell,' a spokeswoman told Fox News. Advertisement Elsewhere, Hamill raged at the current administration, saying: 'The bullying, the incompetence, the people in place. … The only way I can deal with it without going crazy and wanting to open my veins in a warm tub is to look at it like a thick, sprawling political novel. 'It's entertaining in a way because this could actually be the end. Our status in the world has been crippled, and that will reverberate for decades. Making Canada a 51st state? Do you know how offensive that is? And then taking over Greenland and renaming the Gulf of Mexico. The distractions are hilarious.' Despite his grievances, Hamill said of the US: 'I still believe there are more honest, decent people than there are the MAGA crowd. 'If I didn't, I'd move back to England.'
The Hill
13 minutes ago
- The Hill
Yosemite ranger fired for hanging pride flag at El Capitan
A Yosemite National Park ranger has been fired and other activists could face charges after hanging a massive transgender pride flag from the world-renowned El Capitan rock formation earlier this year. Shannon 'SJ' Joslin, a biologist who studies bats and identifies as nonbinary, told The Associated Press that they received a termination letter last week for 'failing to demonstrate acceptable conduct,' after helping a group raise the 66-foot blue, pink and white flag for about two hours on May 20. Joslin said they were not on duty while hanging the flag and were acting as a private citizen. 'If you're a federal worker and you have any kind of identity that doesn't agree with this current administration, then you must be silent, or you will be eliminated,' Joslin told the AP. Joslin said the flag was meant to signal a message to parkgoers: 'We're all safe in national parks.' 'I was really hurting because there were a lot of policies coming from the current administration that target trans people, and I'm nonbinary,' Joslin said. Yosemite National Park updated its rulebook shortly after the transgender pride flag was flown to ban flags larger than 15 square feet from certain areas, including on El Capitan. 'This restriction is necessary to preserve the values of wilderness character in accordance with the Wilderness Act, provide for an unimpaired visitor experience, protect natural and cultural resources in designated Wilderness and Potential Wilderness Addition portions of the park,' the updated rule states. 'This restriction is also necessary to maintain public safety, as it prohibits draping items that could endanger and interfere with permitted or allowable unpermitted climbing activity.' The National Park Service (NPS) and Department of Interior didn't immediately respond to The Hill's requests for comment. An NPS spokesperson told the AP that authorities 'are pursuing administrative action against several Yosemite National Park employees and possible criminal charges against several park visitors who are alleged to have violated federal laws and regulations related to demonstrations.' President Trump has taken several measures to roll back policies that supported transgender and nonbinary people, beginning with an executive order federally recognizing only two sexes, male and female, in January. His administration also has sought to end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for minority groups. The Yosemite landscape has been the site of similar flag protests in the past, including ones against the federal government. Climbers hung a banner last year that read 'STOP THE GENOCIDE' in protest of the ongoing war in Gaza. Park rangers lifted an upside-down American flag — known as a signal of distress — from the mountain in February as the Trump administration slashed NPS funding. Jackie Ostfeld, director of the Sierra Club's Outdoors for All campaign, said in a statement that criminal charges 'would be an act of intimidation intended to have a chilling effect on others exercising their rights.' 'El Capitan has frequently been used as a site for demonstrations of free speech,' Ostfeld said. 'National parks help tell the story of America, and essential to that story is the freedom of speech.'
San Francisco Chronicle
43 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump calls on Federal Reserve official to resign after ally accuses her of mortgage fraud
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook to resign after a member of his administration accused Cook of committing mortgage fraud. Bill Pulte, director of the agency that oversees mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, urged the Justice Department to investigate Cook, who was appointed to the Fed's governing board by former president Joe Biden in 2022. She was reappointed the following year to a term that lasts until 2038. Pulte alleged that Cook has claimed two homes as her principal residences -- one in Georgia, the other in Michigan -- to fraudulently obtain better mortgage lending terms. The allegation represents another front in the Trump administration's attack on the Fed, which has yet to cut its key interest rate as Trump has demanded. If Cook were to step down, then the White House could nominate a replacement. And Trump has said he would only appoint people who would support lower rates. The Federal Reserve declined to comment on the accusation. Trump has for months demanded that the Federal Reserve reduce the short-term interest rate it controls, which currently stands at about 4.3%. Trump says that a lower rate would reduce the government's borrowing costs on $37 trillion in debt and boost the housing market by reducing mortgage rates. Yet mortgage borrowing costs do not always follow the Fed's rate decisions. The Trump administration has made similar claims of mortgage fraud against Democrats that Trump has attacked, including California Sen. Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James.
