New York, NY – U.S. Attorney Fires Back At Cuomo’s Office; Warns Of Possible Ethics Investigation

New York, NY – On the heels of statements made by former Moreland Commission members on Monday, U.S. Attorney in Manhattan Preet Bharara fired off a letter to Gov. Cuomo’s office Wednesday stating that a possible ethics investigation may be forthcoming with regard to obstruction of justice or witness tampering.

MOBILE.NYTIMES.com (http://nyti.ms/1s6xTxt) reports that suspicions arose in Mr. Bharara’s office after some commissioners admitted that their Monday statements in defense of Cuomo’s handling of the commission were sparked by calls from the governor or go-betweens.

Mr. Bharara’s letter to Cuomo said, “We have reason to believe a number of commissioners recently have been contacted about the commission’s work, and some commissioners have been asked to issue public statements characterizing events and facts regarding the commission’s operation.”

“To the extent anyone attempts to influence or tamper with a witness’s recollection of events relevant to our investigation, including the recollection of a commissioner or one of the commission’s employees, we request that you advise our office immediately, as we must consider whether such actions constitute obstruction of justice or tampering with witnesses that violate federal law,” the letter said.