NY State Democratic Chair Says He Hopes Cuomo Will ‘Remain a Productive and Positive Force in the Party’

A mere hour or so before Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to resign amid a sexual harassment scandal, the chair of the New York state Democratic Party said that he hopes Cuomo will “remain a productive and positive force in the party.”

The remark from Jay Jacobs was triggered by a question from MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell about what Cuomo should do with the $18 million he has remaining in his campaign war chest.

“He can’t distribute it to federal candidates because it’s raised under New York state rules, which are different,” said O’Donnell. “He can give it to your party, your state Democratic Party. Are you going to ask him for that $18 million?”

This was Jacobs’ response:

Well  I can share the wiring instructions with him if he would like. We would be more than happy to take some of that money into the party. Look, I think the governor hasn’t even thought of those kind of things. And my hope is that he is gonna remain a productive and positive force in the party and politics, and his help with those funds and other assets certainly would be something we would appreciate.

“But is that kind of morally acceptable,” replied O’Donnell, “to the New York state Democratic Party, that Cuomo would sit there with the $18 million and dole it out to the people within the Democratic Party in New York here and there that he favors in particular and [is] possibly in a grudge match against others who he resents based on the way the last year of his career has worked out as governor?”

“Well, you know, depending upon what he does with it, I could either live with it or not,” Jacobs responded. “I would say that $18 million is a lot of money to have in a campaign account, certainly if you’re not running for reelection. I don’t expect him to be running for office again. I think that it would be helpful for him to give some of that money to the state party if he would like.”

Watch above via MSNBC.