Mayor De Blasio Calls for New Probe of New York Gov. Cuomo Over Ethics Complaint

Mayor Bill de Blasio is calling for an additional investigation following reports that a longtime adviser to Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been contacting county executives to gauge their loyalty amid the governor's sexual harassment probe.

The Washington Post and The New York Times reported that one Democratic county executive was so disturbed by the call from vaccine "czar" Larry Schwartz that the executive filed notice of an impending ethics complaint with the public integrity unit of the state attorney general's office.

Schwartz told the Post he did not discuss vaccines in the conversations and that he "did nothing wrong," but De Blasio said if true, the action "is the definition of corruption."

"It all deserves a very thorough investigation – state, federal either, both – but it deserves investigation immediately because the idea that this is how we save lives and it must be handled not with politics, not for political gain, but to actually help people and to do it fairly. That's what's at stake here. And, you know, I'm very worried about the corruption we're hearing about here," the democratic mayor said Monday during his daily coronavirus briefing.

De Blasio said the state has consistently ignored his requests for more local control and greater vaccine supply, and that he believes this to be a direct result of his longtime rift with Cuomo.

"I'm sure my team could provide you a list of the number of times I've called for something, publicly, and the governor has just immediately said, 'No!' out of spite. And that's dangerous," he said.

"There's no question in my mind that the state does not try to make those decisions based on where the need is greatest, but constantly lets politics into those decisions," he also said.

Cuomo is facing allegations that he sexually harassed or behaved inappropriately toward six women, including several former staffers. He has denied touching any women inappropriately.

The three-term governor has rejected calls for his resignation from fellow Democrats, including New York's two U.S. senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and has asked New Yorkers to await the results of an investigation headed by state Attorney General Letitia James.

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