Scurrying for cover

Mike Groll/AP

Gov. Cuomo’s Commission to Investigate Public Corruption must not back down.

With an arrogant sense of entitlement, Albany’s legislators have told the state’s new independent anticorruption commission it can stick its request for additional transparency where the sun don’t shine.

All the more reason for the Gov. Cuomo-appointed Commission to Investigate Public Corruption to keep up its hunt for information the public deserves.

Friday was the deadline for state lawmakers to voluntarily come clean about their outside income — and any hidden conflicts between their moonlighting and their public duties.

The lawmakers’ unanimous, bipartisan answer, delivered through newly hired attorneys, was approximately as forthcoming as the Iranians have been with UN nuclear watchdogs.

“All information legally required to be disclosed and relevant to any legitimate inquiry already has been disclosed,” declared the letter from Assembly lawyer Marc Kasowitz and Senate lawyer Michael Garcia.

Translation: Lawmakers specifically designed ethics rules so they could go on keeping secrets about where they make their money. Damned if they’re not going to hide what they can.

The letter further argued that the commission “is constrained by the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers, and the Legislature’s independence is also safeguarded by the speech or debate clause.”

Translation: Get too nosy and we’ll see you in court.

So much for any cooperation in raising ethical standards in New York’s notoriously sleazy state Capitol.

So much for openness and accountability.

The response from commission spokeswoman Michelle Duffy requires no translation:

“As the old adage goes, if you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide.

“We believe the Legislature’s position is legally indefensible, ethically repugnant, and disrespectful to the public’s right to know.

“There are a number of avenues through which the commission can obtain the information being sought, and we will pursue them.”

Go for it.

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