Posted on 08/12/2007 5:00:43 PM PDT by neverdem
Attorney General Cuomo is seeking to use the state police scandal surrounding Governor Spitzer as a springboard to increase his powers to investigate public corruption at the highest levels of state government, including the executive chamber.
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat who is widely believed to be eyeing the governorship in 2010, is urging lawmakers to approve legislation granting his office broad jurisdiction and subpoena powers, enabling it to launch criminal investigations of the governor, his staff, and other state officials.
A top aide to Mr. Cuomo issued the request during a Senate committee meeting yesterday that Republicans convened to uncover more details about the recent investigations into allegations that Spitzer administration officials improperly used state police to gather potentially damaging information about the governor's chief political foe, the Senate majority leader, Joseph Bruno.
Mr. Cuomo's chief of staff, Steven Cohen, whose office conducted an investigation into the scheme, testified that the scandal would have been quickly resolved had the attorney general's office been armed with subpoena power.
Mr. Cuomo's office was unable to interview key figures in the administration about the allegations or subpoena e-mails, provoking an outcry from Senate Republicans that has led to the launch of two more investigations by the New York State Ethics Commission and by the Albany County district attorney, David Soares.
"If we had subpoena power, the investigation would be over," Mr. Cohen said, arguing that the state needed a "single investigative body" to deal with public malfeasance.
As a candidate, Mr. Cuomo last year said he would aggressively pursue public corruption cases, shaking up the priorities of his predecessor, Mr. Spitzer, who chiefly focused on targeting Wall Street abuses.
The pledge has been borne out in Mr. Cuomo's seven months in office.
Aside from his role in investigating the Spitzer scandal, Mr. Cuomo...
(Excerpt) Read more at nysun.com ...
Andrew should be in jail, not the top lawman in NY
While they’re at it, they ought to investigate why the SP were willing to do this for Spitzer instead of telling him to go urinate up a rope.
I think Spitzer made a lot of enemies with his sanctimonious attacks on business and anyone out there who wasn’t liberal.
He’s getting what he deserves.
Albany is cesspool. They all ought to locked up.
Sounds like a Fitzy
Is there anything in the world as entertaining as watching two snake in the grass leftists going at it??
Whoever wins, we win.
Cuomo, the dictator-in-waiting.
Let ‘em fight it out.
Battle of the tiny dicts. (sic)
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