When former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo took the stage on August 10 to announce his resignation, offering the now-infamous “Italian defense” to allegations that he had sexually harassed 11 women, his response was being carefully monitored in real time. Jefrey Pollock, a founding partner and the president of Global Strategy Group, had helped craft the public relations response to the scandal and was in direct contact with Cuomo’s top aide during the press conference, urging the governor to sound more contrite. While MSNBC anchor Katy Tur reported on the speech, Democratic operative Lis Smith took to a group chat for the team advising Cuomo, reporting gleefully: “Katy is saying my spin live… Like verbatim on CNN.”
Pollock, who was in the group chat, was uniquely qualified to contribute to the spin. Just two years prior, GSG, a consulting and polling firm, had produced a…
