Chris Bragg reports in the Times Union that several current and former members of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's staff, or people speaking on their behalf, say helping on work on the governor's book was not voluntary. Previously, Cuomo's spokesperson said that the work by staff busy with the COVID-19 pandemic was legal, voluntary, and was not a misuse of taxpayer-funded resources. “It was not optional,” said one former staffer, who spoke on condition of not being identified. “It was considered a part of your job. Everyone knew that you did what was asked of you and opting-out was never really an option.” Another anonymous source, who the Times Union says has direct knowledge of a more junior Cuomo staffer’s work, called it “patently ridiculous” that the staffer had volunteered on the “American Crisis” book. And at least two junior Cuomo staffers who worked on the book got substantial overtime payments, according to records provided by the Empire Center for Public Policy and state comptroller's office. "Any state official that advised the governor on the book was voluntary, in compliance with state ethics laws and done on their personal time," Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said. "Every effort was made to ensure that no state resources were used in connection with this project – to the extent an aide did something like printing out a document, it appears incidental.” Bragg writes in the Times Union that, "Asked if there was documentation demonstrating that junior staffers were asked whether they wanted to opt-in to volunteering on Cuomo's book, Azzopardi did not provide any such records." Read more about this story in the Times Union.