Cuomo sues author Greg Palast for $15 million

This just received from Palast's subscription list (and if you haven't read this book of his yet, do it!):

New York - December 18 -
Mario Cuomo today sued author Greg Palast and his publisher, Penguin, for $15 million over mention of the ex-politico in the New York Times bestseller, “The Best Democracy Money Can Buy”.

Palast, whose award-winning stories appear on BBC television and the Guardian Newspapers, is known in Britain as, "the most important investigative reporter of our time" (Tribune Magazine, UK).

Palast's exposé of Katherine Harris' wrongful purge of Black voters before the 2000 presidential election won Harper's Magazine a US National Magazine Award nomination for public service reporting.

Palast said, "It's goofy. Katherine Harris called me, 'twisted and maniacally partisan.' Well, now here's another politico from the other side of the aisle gunning for me - all for reporting the news."

"There are two Cuomos," explained Palast, "Mario Jekyll and Mario Hyde. In public, Cuomo is the sanctimonious defender of the Bill of Rights and the working man, but here he's a bully-boy allergic to the First Amendment."

THE NPR CHALLENGE

Northeast Public Radio host Alan Chartock has offered Cuomo a chance to debate Palast on First Amendment issues raised by his lawsuit. Palast asked Chartock, who co-hosted a radio program with Cuomo for 18 years, "to give the Governor and me a chance to set the record straight - no lawyers, just face to face and fact to fact."

Palast looks forward to the chance to review until-now secret files of communications between the Governor, his political donors and benefactors.

As to Cuomo's complaint, Palast said, "I stand by every word and comma. Cuomo's attempt to censor reports published in the public interest will not intimidate me. Thankfully, I have the support of my publisher."

The dispute centers on the period when Palast was chief investigator for Suffolk County, New York, in the government's successful prosecution of a civil racketeering case against the builders of the Shoreham nuclear plant. Long Island electricity customers received approximately $400 million in compensation in settlement of the litigation brought after Palast's discovery of alleged frauds. Palast's bestselling book mentions then-Governor Cuomo's involvement in that 1988 trial and settlement.

"The real issue," said Palast, "is the right of a reporter to write the facts to the best of his knowledge free of the fear of financially ruinous lawsuits and intimidation."

Palast, recipient of the Financial Times David Thomas Prize and winner of Britain's 'story of the year' for his undercover investigation of Prime Minister Tony Blair.

The journalist also won accolades from Cuomo. Palast received a mounted pen from Cuomo's signing of the Long Island Power Authority Act which put the owner of Shoreham out of business.

Palast said, "Cuomo accuses me of calling him 'corrupt.' He must be reading some other book - the word does not appear in mine. He is clearly uncomfortable about press scrutiny of his conduct. He has chosen to mischaracterize and coerce rather than debate and open the records."

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.