Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s reported interference with a short-lived ethics panel is getting laughs on late-night television.
On Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show,” Jon Stewart played a clip of an earlier interview with Cuomo in which the governor said that his Moreland Commission could investigate anyone in the legislature for corruption — including his own office.
Stewart followed that up with Cuomo’s office’s latest statement to The New York Times saying the panel cannot look into his office because he created the commission in the first place.
“You know that’s f–king ridiculous, right?” Stewart asked. “You know the ‘I made it, I can do what I want with it’ excuse only works for George Lucas, right?”
A three-month New York Times investigation found that Cuomo’s office had meddled with the commission when the panel started investigating groups close to the governor.
“It turns out Gov. Cuomo may be like the boss at work that says, ‘Yeah, no, we’ll play hoops at lunch. You can go hard,’” Stewart joked. “And then when Jimmy from accounting blocks his shot and drives the lane, he’s like, ‘Hey, you’re not allowed to touch the ball because I started the game.'”
Stewart ended the segment with a crack about New York’s top politicians: “Look, I really hope there’s nothing to this because New York’s governors have two halls, shame and fame, and one of them is very crowded.”