Cuomo impeachment probe to be suspended
ALBANY, N.Y. – The New York state Assembly will suspend its investigation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo once he steps down after its leaders concluded they didn’t have the authority to impeach him once he leaves office, the chamber’s top Democrat said Friday.
Cuomo announced Tuesday that he planned to resign over sexual harassment allegations as it became clear he was almost certain to be impeached by the Legislature. He said his resignation was effective in 14 days, at which point he will be replaced by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Some lawmakers had urged the Assembly to press on with an impeachment proceeding, perhaps to bar Cuomo from holding state office in the future if he attempted a comeback.
But Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said in a statement that lawyers had advised the legislature’s judiciary committee that doing so would be unconstitutional.
“Let me be clear – the committee’s work over the last several months, although not complete, did uncover credible evidence in relation to allegations that have been made in reference to the governor,” said Heastie, a New York City Democrat.
He said that included evidence related to the sexual harassment claims, possible misuse of state resources in conjunction with publication of the governor’s book on the pandemic, and “improper and misleading disclosure of nursing home data.”
“This evidence – we believe – could likely have resulted in articles of impeachment had he not resigned,” Heastie said.
Cuomo’s office and his lawyer, Rita Glavin, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The state attorney general last week released an independent investigation that concluded Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women.
The first woman to publicly accuse Cuomo of misconduct, Lindsey Boylan, called the Assembly leadership’s decision to call off its separate investigation “an unjust cop out.”
Since March, outside lawyers have been helping the Assembly conduct a wide-ranging investigation on whether there were grounds to impeach Cuomo.