Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Does today’s NY Times Moreland Commission Bomb Threaten State Senator Marty Golden ? — It Surely Should

The Times’ focus on Governor Cuomo’s supporters among real estate developers shines a bright light on a bunch of guys that also have supported Golden over the years

Merely mentioning the Moreland Commission and Real Estate Developers in the same article makes Golden and his supporters very nervous  —   rightfully so  —  a narrower inquiry into what the governor or his people did  (like Christie in New Jersey), and when he/they did it, would not be nearly so upsetting


Which did you hear first,  the noise of the NY Times bomb going off or its immediate massive echo around New York ?   My bet is that most people heard about the Times article before they read it, if they ever get around to it. I certainly heard about it first; and I linked to the article and read it at around 4:00 AM this morning

According to a reporter of inside goings-on in Albany, “Today’s New York Times story on the Cuomo administration’s extensive meddling in the now-defunct Moreland Commission is exhaustive and comprehensive, laying out in detail the (successful) effort by the governor’s top aide, Larry Schwartz, to derail any lines of investigation that might expose or embarrass the executive. ***   But while the piece notes that US Attorney Preet Bharara is now investigatig the commission’s demise – shut down by Cuomo in exchange for agreement on an ethics reform package by legislative leaders – it does not directly address the question of what laws may have been broken during this entire mess, and by whom” (See “Did Anyone Break The Law?” by Liz Benjamin, 7/23/14, State Of Politics - NY [http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2014/07/did-anyone-break-the-law/#disqus_thread]). That is a rather late and nifty echo, which actually pivots the story to what Liz Benjamin wanted to talk about  —  what possible laws were broken and by whom. So the Times’ story about whether the Governor interfered with the most recent Moreland Commission or just was properly steering and managing an ethics inquiry got morphed by Liz Benjamin’s column into an inquiry about, as yet undefined, crimes; and the guilt or innocence of, as yet unnamed, perpetrators. Or, to put it another way, the Times’ writers are telling a story about what was going on, whereas Ms. Benjamin wants to tell why it’s all so bad.

Before the smoke clears in all of this, the story will be told and retold, and it will be contradicted and even rebutted. During all of that, the prior clear or fuzzy focus will be refocused and even redirected. That’s where the danger is for out local Republican-Conservative State Senator Marty Golden and others like him.

The New York Times article described in great detail how commission investigators were getting too close to the Governor’s supporters in parts of New York’s real estate establishment; how the Governor’s operators tried steering them away; and then how  the Governor shut it all down, citing a legislative deal that made the commission moot ( See “Cuomo’s Office Hobbled Ethics Inquiries by Moreland Commission” by Suzanne Craig, William K. Rashbaum & Thomas Kaplan, 7/23/14, NY Times/ NY Region [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/nyregion/governor-andrew-cuomo-and-the-short-life-of-the-moreland-commission.html?ref=nyregion&_r=0]). If you’ve followed the stories about State Senator Golden’s dealings with-and-for real estate developers, you’ll know why the Times’ glaring spotlight on what the Governor and his people did would make those hoping to stay in the shadows very uncomfortable.

You only have to mention Moreland Commission and real estate developers to Golden or any of the senior members of his staff, and you’d surely have to break out the epipens before somebody’s airway constricts.  The encyclopedic Times article did all of that, minus any reported need for an epipen. That’s why making the ongoing investigation something more like Liz Benjamin's pirouette - to looking for specific people committing specific crimes - might be preferable. Preferable, that is, to anybody, who’s not Governor Cuomo or a member of his staff  —  somebody like Marty Golden, for instance.

7 comments:

Galewyn Massey said...

UPDATE: THE “CANDIDATES’ REACTION” EDITION

REPUBLICAN, DEMOCRAT AND GREEN PARTY CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR GO AFTER CUOMO USING THE TIMES MORELAND COMMISSION ARTICLE

ASTORINO CALLS ON GOVERNOR TO COME CLEAN — TEACHOUT CALLS FOR CUOMO’S RESIGNATION


Nick Reisman reports that “Political opponents of Governor Andrew Cuomo were quick to pounce on an exhaustive New York Times story revealing how a top aide played a key role in directing and blocking subpoenas from anti-corruption Moreland Commission created last year....” (See “Candidates for Governor React to NY Times Report on Moreland Commission”
by Nick Reisman, 7/23/14, Warner Cable News/ NY1 [http://www.ny1.com/content/politics/212741/candidates-for-governor-react-to-ny-times-report-on-moreland-commission/]). Reisman’s post on the Warner Cable News blog went on to say, “While the Times story is a black eye for the governor, it remains to be seen whether his opponents can gain any traction off it.”

GOP Candidate for Governor Rob Astorino, blasted the apparent hypocrisy of Cuomo's campaigning in 2010 on reforming Albany's murky ethics and then failing to do much about it. Astorino is reported to have said this: "It's galling that a man who rode in to be a white knight is actually knee deep in scandal right now. Mr. Cuomo needs to come clean and he needs to do that right now.".

According to the Reisman article, Zephyr Teachout, a Fordham Law School professor who filed the requisite number of signatures to have her name place on the ballot for Governor in the NYS Democratic Primary, said the following: "Governor Andrew Cuomo should resign if he directed or even knew what his top aide was doing, obstructing with the anti-corruption commission.... The people of New York deserve to know. Governor Cuomo needs to come clean immediately about what he knew about what his top aide was doing...."

Lastly, the Warner News/ NY 1 reporter quoted Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins this way: "This just corroborates what we already had an inkling was going on. For me, that means I came out here saying we need a debate on jobs, but after reading [the Times article cited in the main post above] that we need a debate on ethics and campaign finance reform."

Anonymous said...

The article specifically mentions Extell, one of the real estate developers that benefitted from Golden's sponsorship of that infamous tax abatement bill, as a huge donor to Cuomo through other LLCs. Did those same companies donate to Marty, or maybe they just got the full buff at the Manor?

Galewyn Massey said...

UPDATE: THE “FIRST THE BOMBING THEN THE STRAFING” EDITION

NY TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD JOINS SULZBERGER’S FRONT PAGE GUYS IN FOLLOW-UP ATTACK ON NYS GOVERNOR CUOMO

NY TIMES’ EDITORIAL — “GOV. CUOMO’S BROKEN PROMISES” — ALSO WARNS OTHER NYS “REPRESENTATIVES”

Today’s NY Times Editorial picked up the cudgel that appeared on that paper’s front page yesterday and it hammered New York Governor Andrew Cuomo with it — one more time — with feeling (See “Gov. Cuomo’s Broken Promises” by THE [NY TIMES] EDITORIAL BOARD, 7/23/14, NY Times [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/opinion/gov-cuomos-broken-promises.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=c-column-top-span-region&region=c-column-top-span-region&WT.nav=c-column-top-span-region&_r=0] [A version of this editorial appears in print on July 24, 2014, on page A26 of the New York edition with the headline: Gov. Cuomo’s Broken Promises.]). The paper’s official OPINION uses both it’s length and placement, and moral authority among the “elites,” to drive home the point of that paper’s newsmen, which was made on yesterday’s front page. It’s not very good for Andrew Cuomo or any other New York State “representative,” who might be in the same boat.

It starts like this: “Gov. Andrew Cuomo ran for office four years ago promising first and foremost to clean up Albany. Not only has he not done that, but now he is looking as bad as the forces he likes to attack. *** Last year, Mr. Cuomo created an independent commission that he promised could go anywhere — even his own office — to root out corruption. But a report in The Times on Wednesday showed that he never intended to keep that promise. The commission was not independent, and Mr. Cuomo’s aides blocked it whenever it tried to investigate the governor’s office or his biggest supporters....”

And it ends like this — “After the abrupt shutdown of the commission in March, Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, demanded all the documents and unfinished work from the commission. Mr. Bharara was right to take charge. Mr. Cuomo’s administration should make sure it has turned over every document relating to the Moreland fiasco. *** It’s not just Mr. Bharara’s job to clean up Albany. It is up to the voters to decide whether to go on endorsing business as usual. As the indictments and embarrassments continue (26 at latest count since 1999), New Yorkers will have to decide if their representatives are politicians they can trust, including Mr. Cuomo.”

State Senator Martin Golden, please take note !

Galewyn Massey said...

UPDATE: THE "MSM HAMMERS CUOMO OVER THE MORELAND COMMISION" EDITION

"MORNING JOE" SCARBOROUGH AND JON STEWART TEAR INTO CUOMO'S NOTION THAT "IT'S MY COMMISSION... "

Gov. Cuomo took several shots earlier today about his attempts to control, and then his ultimately disbanding, the Moreland anti-corruption commission on Monday's "Morning Joe." Host Joe Scarborough and his guests layed into NY Governor Andrew Cuomo for everything from "babbling" to being "bubble-wrapped" over the scandal. According to the News' Celeste Katz, "The group questioned Cuomo's honesty, sanity, and political profile and future as they tossed around his layers of justifications for interfering with and disbanding the ethics commission...." (See "Gov. Cuomo takes Moreland Commission body blows on 'Morning Joe' " by Celeste Katz, 7/27/14, NY Daily News [http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/cuomo-takes-moreland-body-blows-morning-joe-blog-entry-1.1882569]).

Perhaps more threatening politically was the recognition of Andrew Cuomo's recent Moreland Commission problems by a nationally watched professional jokester, Jon Stewart(See "Jon Stewart's mocking of Gov. Cuomo over Moreland Commission brings controversy into the mainstream" by Ken Lovett, 7/28/14, NY Daily News [http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/gov-cuomo-mocking-jon-stewart-moreland-commission-big-headache-blog-entry-1.1882190]).

This was Ken Lovett's take on it: "Of the slew of bad coverage Gov. Cuomo suffered last week after a lengthy New York Times explose on the administration's interference with an anti-corruption commission created by the governor, none may have been more devastating than his take down by Jon Stewart on 'The Daily Show.' *** Stewart, in his lead segment Thursday, listed a host of recent Albany corruption scandals and then ran numerous videos of Cuomo vowing to clean up Albany, his creation of the Moreland commission to tackle corruption, and then reports that he steered investigators away from himself. Stewart focused on Cuomo’s original vow that the body would be independent before more recently saying that the panel couldn’t realistically look into him because he appointed it. “I really hope there’s nothing to this because New York’s governors have two halls--shame and fame. One of them is very crowded. *** Those close to Cuomo say he's been a target of Stewart before, like when he said extreme conservatives have no place in New York."

Galewyn Massey said...

UPDATE ON A RELATED MATTER: THE "PREET BHARARA TACKS ANOTHER SCALP TO HIS WALL" EDITION

According to Liz Benjamin posting on "The State Of New York Politics" blog, "A jury today found ex-Queens Councilman Dan Halloran guilty on all five counts of the corruption charges he faced stemming in part from his role in a bribery scheme to sell the GOP line in the 2013 NYC mayoral primary...." (See "Ex-Councilman Halloran Guilty On All Five Counts" by Liz Benjamin, 7/29/14, State of Politics -NY [http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2014/07/ex-councilman-halloran-guilty-on-all-five-counts/]).

You might remember this was part of a bigger case that Brooklyn State Senator inappropriately and without a shred of evidence tried to connect to Kings County Republican Chairman Craig Eaton. It turned out that the false charges by Golden were only the beginnings of Golden's multiple failed attempts to take over the Brooklyn GOP in 2013.

In what might be seen as more bad news for Golden, Preet Bharara's statement about the Halloran conviction included these remarks: "...This Office will continue the vigorous prosecution of political corruption to secure for the people of New York – regardless of party affiliation – what they deserve: the honest labors of their elected representatives. And we will continue to partner with the FBI, whose outstanding investigative work in this case was instrumental to achieving a just result.”

Galewyn Massey said...

UPDATE: THE "CAHILL CAMPAIGN'S MORELAND COMMISSION FUND RAISING" EDITION

STATEWIDE GOP CANDIDATES USE CUOMO'S MORELAND FLAP IN AN ACROSS THE BOARD ATTACK ON DEM OPPONENTS

SCHNEIDERMAN QUICKLY RESPONDS TO CAHILL


John Cahill, the Republican candidate for attorney general sent out a fundraising email on Wednesday that tied the incumbent NYS Attorney General, Democrat Eric Schneiderman, to the ongoing Moreland Commission mess. In that email, Cahill’s fundraising team made the claim that Schneiderman has 'done little to fight the corruption'...." (See "Cahill Fundraises Off Moreland Controversy" by Nick Reisman, 7/30/14, State of Politics NY [http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2014/07/cahill-fundraises-off-moreland-controversy/]).

This is Reisman's takeaway about this otherwise routine but of campaign financing by the Cahill Campaign: "The fundraising note is yet another sign that Republican candidates — including gubernatorial hopeful Rob Astorino and comptroller candidate Bob Antonacci — are trying to capitalize on the Moreland Commission controversy and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office’s involvement in the anti-corruption panel."

The AG's re-election team was quick to respond with a prickly statement that started out like this: "No Attorney General in New York State history has been as aggressive in cracking down on public corruption as Attorney General Schneiderman, who has in less than four years prosecuted forty politicians, government employees and nonprofit officials who abused the public trust — including legislators from his own party...."

Anonymous said...

Schneiderman has been see no evil hear no evil on the Hynes investigation.