Cuomo Avoids Impeachment As Assembly Halts Its Probe After Resignation

New York lawmakers have decided to suspend Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) impeachment investigation in light of his decision to resign, according to a statement from House Speaker Carl Heastie on Friday.

Cuomo announced last Tuesday that his resignation would be effective on August 24. This announcement came just a day after Heastie and Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Lavine (D-Nassau) discussed plans for their upcoming impeachment investigation.

Progressives and conservatives alike are still calling for the state to move ahead with the investigation even though Cuomo will no longer be in office.

Republican Minority Leader Will Barclay released a statement on Friday. “A job resignation does not equate to accountability,” he said. “Additionally, impeaching Andrew Cuomo means he would be prohibited from holding public office ever again in New York state.”

Heastie asserted that “the purpose of the Assembly Judiciary Committee’s impeachment investigation was to determine whether Governor Cuomo should remain in office. The governor’s resignation answers that directive.”

Heastie added that Lavine and counsel decided “that the constitution does not authorize the legislature to impeach and remove an elected official who is no longer in office.”

He added that the impeachment inquiry that begun in March “did uncover credible evidence in relation to allegations that have been made in reference to the governor. Underscoring the depth of this investigation, this evidence concerned not only sexual harassment and misconduct but also the misuse of state resources in relation to the publication of the governor’s memoir as well as improper and misleading disclosure of nursing home data during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Article by Elizabeth Letsou