Former Governor Cuomo spent $67,700 on a poll testing the waters of a potential political comeback. He also received a $565,000 check from the New York State comptroller for legal fees he spent defending himself against charges that did not result in a conviction.
Why did Gov. Cuomo receive a reimbursement from NYS? Well, in the United States, you are innocent until proven guilty, and in New York, there is a law that requires the state to reimburse legal fees to elected officials who have been accused of crimes that don’t result in convictions. In other words, like Cuomo or not, he was not found guilty of anything and he can’t be financially punished by being forced to absorb the legal fees for his defense under NY law.
Cuomo’s recent campaign finance report shows he has $7.8 million on hand. The report also shows he has spent $6.9 million in legal fees since 2021 when the Assembly filed impeachment charges against him.
Cuomo has spent money defending himself from a variety of charges, including allegations of sexual misconduct and misuse of state resources to write his pandemic memoir. Not all expenses will be reimbursable, but he is expected to be reimbursed several million dollars when everything is finalized.
In other Cuomo campaign fund activity, the former governor seems to be engaged in an effort to resurrect his political career with a run for mayor of New York City. He may have reason to be hopeful, as a recent poll shows that only 16% of likely voters in NYC would vote for Mayor Adams again. Cuomo’s campaign paid $67,700 for what was listed as “polling costs”.
It’s anyone's guess whether Cuomo will take the plunge into a campaign for mayor, but it seems clear he wants to be back in the public eye engaging in policy discussions and making the rounds where media outlets will have him. He recently appeared on Bill Maher’s Real Time where Maher tried to get Cuomo to comment on whether he'd ma.
Earlier this year, Cuomo spent a similar sum with Bulldog Strategies, owned by Cuomo’s former director of communications, for campaign consulting services.