I don't see a part that clearly states they are authorized to distribute them either. The CM team created scripts that will backup the Gapps on the phone and restore them after flashing CM. It is my understanding that Google was ok with that. They did not continue to send C&D letters or take them to court. This was between Google and the CM team, and they appear to have resolved it in 2009. If your phone comes with the Google Apps installed, then you are entitled to have them on your phone. That was the point. Google appears to have had an issue with them being included in custom ROMs, but does not appear to have an issue with people flashing custom ROMs and putting Google Apps back afterward.
Can I find something from Google stating that clearly? No. Does that mean it's not true? No. Their action and subsequent inaction makes it pretty clear to me. CyanogenMod is not exactly under the radar. If Google has an issue with how things are going now, they would start sending letters again. They have done it once already.
