An Alleged Leak Brings Governor Cuomo, Ethics Commission Under Scrutiny

New York State's Joint Commission on Public Ethics, or JCOPE, is supposed to be in charge of making sure state officials and lobbyists abide by ethical behavior, and it's designed to be an impartial body.

But recent reporting has revealed that Governor Andrew Cuomo might have known details about a closed-door JCOPE vote that happened earlier this year. Any leaking of private JCOPE votes and deliberation is unlawful. The governor has said he was never aware of how members in the commission voted.

After a ten-month probe, the state's inspector general said in October that it was unable to substantiate the allegation — but now that investigation is being scrutinized, as well. 

Brendan Lyons, state editor for the Albany Times-Union, told WNYC that this allegation brings up overarching questions about JCOPE.

"It continues to throw a cloud over JCOPE and the idea that it's a 'watchdog,'" Lyons said. "And while JCOPE certainly pursues lobbyists and others for ethics violations, it seems that its ability to pursue state government corruption or ethics violations falls short."

Lyons spoke with WNYC's Julianne Welby.