NY Assembly eyeing Cuomo articles of impeachment by end of August
The state Assembly is wrapping up its probe of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and could draft articles of impeachment by the end of the month, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
The timetable on the Assembly Judiciary Committee’s impeachment investigation of Cuomo comes a day after a withering report by state Attorney General Letitia James found that the three-term governor used his office to sexually harass female underlings half his age and broke state and federal laws.
The Assembly Judiciary Committee will issue its report and recommendation — all but certainly to impeach Cuomo — and then the full Assembly would immediately go back into session and vote on the articles of impeachment.
At least 82 state Assembly members have either released public statements or told The Associated Press that they support beginning the process of forcing out the scandal-scarred governor who now faces criminal probes in at least four counties including in Manhattan.
The Assembly probe will review the findings of the attorney general’s sexual harassment investigation of Cuomo before issuing its final report. The Assembly’s lawyers have also interviewed some of the same Cuomo accusers and other witnesses, a source familiar with the investigation said.
The Assembly investigators have also gathered information about accusations that Cuomo covered up the true total of coronavirus deaths of nursing homes during the peak of the pandemic, whether he used staffers and other government resources to prepare his $5.1 million COVID book deal as well as safety issues at the Mario Cuomo Bridge.
A simple majority — 76 votes — is needed to impeach Cuomo.
Should Cuomo be impeached, two-term Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul would immediately become acting governor pending the outcome of his trial.
The Assembly articles of impeachment are then sent to the Senate, where a trial on whether to convict Cuomo for misconduct must take place within 60 days.
A two-thirds vote is needed in the Senate to convict Cuomo.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) telegraphed on Tuesday that Cuomo’s days are numbered after expressing disgust and outrage over the governor’s pervy and abusive behavior outlined in the AG’s report. Cuomo has disputed some of the report’s findings.
“It is abundantly clear to me that the Governor has lost the confidence of the Assembly Democratic majority and that he can no longer remain in office,” Heastie said.
“Once we receive all relevant documents and evidence from the Attorney General, we will move expeditiously and look to conclude our impeachment investigation as quickly as possible.”
The Assembly Judiciary Committee will meet on Monday and its members said they are eager to proceed.
“If the Gov. has not resigned, the Committee review will proceed, including but not limited to the compelling evidence provided by the NYS Attorney General,” said Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright, a Democratic who represents the Upper East Side and serves on the judiciary panel.
“As the chair of the Assembly Majority Task Force on Women’s Issues, I commend these brave women witnesses. They have come forward at great personal risk to share their experience of humiliation and hostility in the workplace. The details as reported are horrifying,” Seawright said.
The AG’s Cuomo sexual harassment report has already triggered four separate investigations by prosecutors in the Manhattan, Nassau, Westchester and Albany county district attorneys’ offices.
Cuomo also is facing probes by the FBI and the Brooklyn US Attorney’s Office that was sparked by The Post’s revelation that a top Cuomo aide privately admitted that his administration covered up the total number of nursing home residents killed by the coronavirus.
