Cuomo is ‘proud’ of corruption panel investigated by feds

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo is doubling down on his tainted anti-corruption panel, saying he’s “proud” of its accomplishments — even as federal prosecutors investigate his administration’s actions.

“Is it perfect? No. Is there more to do? Yes … But it worked,” Cuomo said Monday, breaking his silence for the first time after a bombshell New York Times report last week detailed how the governor’s aides hobbled the commission when it got too close to pals of the administration.

The Times said Cuomo’s top aide, Larry Schwartz, instructed the panel to back off when it issued a subpoena for an ad buying firm that did work for Cuomo’s re-election campaign as well as the state Democratic Party.

“Pull it back,” the Times quoted Schwartz as saying.

When pressed about the Times report, Cuomo argued his aides didn’t tell the commission what to do.

“Interference is different. Interference says their independence was trumped by the second floor. That is false,” Cuomo said after a jobs announcement in Buffalo.

He claimed the commission was “an overwhelming success” — but had to be shut down to save money.

“I don’t believe the state needs another expensive prosecutor’s office. That’s always the answer: Create a new bureaucracy. That was not the answer here,” Cuomo said.

The panel was announced in July 2013 after the state Legislature failed to pass an ethics reform package.

At the time, Cuomo said the commission was independent and free to look into any branch of government — including his own executive branch.

But in March, Cuomo suddenly shut down the panel after the Legislature enacted a watered-down ethics reform package.

He claimed reports of his meddling with the commission’s investigation were off base because he held the ultimate power.

“It’s not a legal question. The Moreland Commission was my commission. It’s my commission. My subpoena power, my Moreland Commission. I can appoint it, I can disband it. I appoint you, I can un-appoint you tomorrow. So, interference? It’s my commission. I can’t ‘interfere’ with it because it is mine. It is controlled by me,” Cuomo told Crain’s NY in April.

Just hours before Cuomo made the remarks in Buffalo, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, one of three commission co-chairs, issued a statement saying the panel was completely independent and if it “uncovered illegality or unethical behavior on the part of the Governor or AG then those matters would have been pursued.”

The other two co-chairs have been silent on the extent of Cuomo’s involvement in their work.

Critics, including those on the national stage, aren’t buying Cuomo’s explanations.

“I think he’s very confused,” Joe Scarborough said Monday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “It’s not his commission any more than it’s his governor’s mansion.”