The latest corruption convictions affecting the Cuomo administration are more proof that the state needs an “independent” attorney general who will investigate government wrongdoing, AG candidate Zephyr Teachout says.
Teachout, one of four Democrats seeking the job in the Sept. 13 primary, said if elected she would beef up the attorney general’s public corruption and criminal bureaus to go after corruption throughout state government, including the governor’s office and the Legislature.
”When you can’t trust Albany to clean itself up . . . you need an attorney general who is ready to use the full scope of existing powers and publicly demand referrals when necessary,” Teachout said.
“We should not have to rely on the feds to be able to trust the integrity of our government in New York State.”
Teachout’s comments Sunday to the Daily News came days after the federal corruption convictions of former SUNY Polytechnic President Alain Kaloyeros and several developers on charges they rigged bids related to several of Gov. Cuomo’s signature upstate economic development projects known as Buffalo Billion.
The attorney general’s primary role is to serve as the chief lawyer for the governor’s office and Legislature. The AG can only investigate state government corruption with a formal referral from the governor.
When Cuomo was attorney general, he pushed for more authority to prosecute public corruption cases, but didn’t get it. His successor in the AG’s office sought similar power, but Cuomo refused.
Teachout, citing a litany of Cuomo administration and legislative criminal convictions, said that “when you have this tornado of corruption scandals, it’s clearly time for an independent attorney general to make this a priority.”
Teachout, who lost to Cuomo in the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial primary, said she believes a 2013 Cuomo executive order creating a Moreland Act commission to probe state government corruption still stands. In her view, the order allows the AG’s office to investigate — even though Cuomo abruptly pulled the plug on the panel in 2014 before its work was done.
Cuomo aides vehemently reject her contention. They say once the Moreland Commission issued its report, it ceased to exist — just like other Moreland commissions in the past.
“Anyone who wants to be the state’s attorney general needs to know the law ,” said Cuomo counsel Alphonso David.
A Democratic insider close to Cuomo noted that Teachout “doesn’t even have a valid law license in New York.”
The insider said Teachout “should read the job description of attorney general. Perhaps she’d like to audition to be U.S. attorney.”
Teachout said her law license from North Carolina has full reciprocity in New York. She said she has argued cases in New York and is in the process of getting her New York license.
“As much as the governor may object, it hasn’t stopped me from suing Trump and it won’t stop me from investigating corruption in Albany,” she said.
Cuomo backs city Public Advocate Letitia James for attorney general.
James on Friday told upstate public radio’s “The Capitol Pressroom” that she would have no problem investigating the governor’s office despite Cuomo’s support.
“All throughout my career I’ve exercised independence,” James told host Susan Arbetter.
She also said she believes the Legislature should pass a law giving the attorney general the direct power to investigate state government corruption without needing approval from the governor. Under current law, she said, most of the criminal prosecution cases undertaken by the attorney general’s office has been from needed referrals from the governor’s office, state agencies, and the state controller’s office.
“We need to empower the office of attorney general to do more so we can directly investigate corruption wherever it leads,” James said.
She added that “it’s important that everyone understands the law. If in fact we’re going to root out corruption wherever it is, it’s really critically important that the hands of the attorney general not be hampered.”
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