United States

In spite of Cuomo’s impending resignation, some in both parties want to see impeachment proceed

(The Center Square) – In announcing his decision to resign on Tuesday, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he took the step so lawmakers would not be distracted with a lengthy, high-profile impeachment trial in the weeks and months ahead.

However, despite his intention to step down later this month, he may still face impeachment, as elected officials and other political leaders – both Democrats and Republicans – have urged the Legislature to continue its work.

Hours after Cuomo’s announcement, Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, D-Manhattan, said his resignation was overdue. However, in calling on her colleagues in Albany to make changes to state policies and prevent similar scandals from happening, she said impeachment proceedings should continue.

Besides the sexual harassment report released by Attorney General Letitia James last week, the document which ultimately served as the tipping point toward his departure, Niou noted there are other Cuomo scandals that need to be fully investigated and adjudicated.

That includes the $5 million deal he secured last year to write a book on his management of COVID-19. In addition, she noted his administration’s role in setting nursing home policies at the beginning of the pandemic that administration critics say led to thousands of deaths. Subsequently, as administration officials claimed the nursing home deaths came from community spread, news reports have indicated the administration rewrote reports from health officials and sought to block lawmakers from learning details of the nursing home-related deaths.

“This is a pattern of his abuse of power, and impeachment is an appropriate and necessary step in our state’s long and difficult healing process,” she said in a statement she posted on Twitter.

Besides obtaining justice for Cuomo’s victims, a trial held by the state Senate and Court of Appeals, if it led to a conviction, would bar him from seeking office again, she said.

On Monday, the Assembly Judiciary Committee met to continue its review of the impeachment proceedings. The nursing home scandal, the book deal and the harassment cases are among the issues lawmakers have been reviewing for months.

In a news conference after the committee meeting, Committee Chairman Charles Lavine, D-Glen Cove, noted that it would be several weeks before the Assembly would vote on articles of impeachment.

When asked, then, if he thought the impeachment would proceed should Cuomo resign, Lavine said it was an “interesting question.” A Cuomo resignation would largely make the matter “moot” once he was out of office. However, he acknowledged proceeding would give lawmakers a chance to ensure Cuomo was never eligible to run for office again.

On Wednesday, Lavine spokesperson Matt Cantor told The Center Square that the chairman stands by those comments but added that the Judiciary Committee’s meeting for this Monday – one in which initially members were scheduled to get secure access to documents from the sexual harassment investigation – is still scheduled to occur.

“However, we do not have a time confirmed, nor do we have details on what’s expected to occur,” Cantor said in an email.

Later Wednesday morning, the six Republican assembly members issued a joint statement saying they remain committed to completing the committee’s work, which they called a “significant endeavor” and necessary for the families of the COVID-19 victims.

“We intend to hold Gov. Andrew Cuomo accountable on behalf of his victims, including the 15,000 innocent lives lost in nursing homes,” said Assemblymembers Michael Montesano, R-Glen Head; Marjorie Byrnes, R-Caledonia; Mike Norris, R-Lockport; Keith Brown, R-Northport; Mary Beth Walsh, R-Ballston; and Michael Tannousis, R-Staten Island.

State Republican Chairman Nick Langworthy said that Cuomo’s resignation was an effort to avoid accountability and that only through impeachment would the state be sure to keep him from running for office again.

The impeachment investigation is just one of several facing Cuomo at this point. Federal investigators have delved into the COVID-19 nursing home case, and several district attorneys across the state have announced they’ve requested records from the attorney general to determine if the soon-to-be-departing Cuomo committed any crimes in their jurisdictions.

During a news conference Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, the governor-in-waiting, said that while it was too soon to discuss possible pardons for Cuomo, she would not stand in the way of lawmakers.

“I’ve been in this business long enough to know that is not the purview of the New York state governor to dictate to the New York state Assembly or to the Judiciary Committee on what actions they should take next with respect to anything, particularly impeachment,” she said.

Disclaimer: This content is distributed by The Center Square

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