On August 10, 2021, Andrew Cuomo tendered his resignation as Governor of New York. In doing so, “Given the circumstances,” the “Love Gov” said in his resignation speech, “the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to government.”
By his resignation, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul becomes New York’s first female Governor.
Cuomo’s resignation from office comes as the New York State Assembly was in the process of an impeachment inquiry. But unlike the urgency to move forward in Congress with the second impeachment of Donald Trump, the New York State Assembly would not be rushed to judgment. Despite the damning report from New York State Attorney General Letitia James, outlining a series of instances where Governor Cuomo sexually harassed a variety of women, “(t)he state Assembly is wrapping up its probe of Gov. Andrew Cuomo and could draft articles of impeachment by the end of the month… (t)he 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… (t)he 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.”
This was a leisurely schedule, given that “(o)ne Assembly member said “not a single voice of support” was expressed in favor of Cuomo during a (recent) emergency State Assembly conference.” Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie was quoted in the New York Post as saying, “After our conference…to discuss the Attorney General’s report concerning sexual harassment allegations against Governor Cuomo, 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.”
Obviously, the New York Assembly got its wish – Governor Cuomo took the hint and resigned. Yet, up until yesterday, the Governor gave no indication of any intention to step down. “At this point, Cuomo seems as if he will try to hold onto power as long as he feels he still has a public mandate. He may reason that resignation would forever tarnish his political legacy, whereas if he serves out his term, the scandal may fade into the background — as it did from March through July, and as Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s blackface scandal did (in fact, Northam’s popularity has fully recovered).”
The handwriting was on the wall, and written large was that the “Love Gov” did not hold that public mandate for much longer. “Marist College released the first poll conducted since James’s report, and it found that 59 percent of New Yorkers wanted Cuomo to resign — and if he doesn’t resign, the same share thinks the state legislature should impeach him. This is just one poll, but it could suggest that many New Yorkers have found the report’s findings disturbing enough to change their mind.”
According to the New York State Constitution, Article VI, Section 24, “The assembly shall have the power of impeachment by a vote of a
majority of all the members elected thereto. The court for the trial of
impeachments shall be composed of the president of the senate, the
senators, or the major part of them, and the judges of the court of
appeals, or the major part of them. On the trial of an impeachment
against the governor or lieutenant-governor, neither the
lieutenant-governor nor the temporary president of the senate shall act
as a member of the court. No judicial officer shall exercise his or her
office after articles of impeachment against him or her shall have been
preferred to the senate, until he or she shall have been acquitted.
Before the trial of an impeachment, the members of the court shall take
an oath or affirmation truly and impartially to try the impeachment
according to the evidence, and no person shall be convicted without the
concurrence of two-thirds of the members present. Judgment in cases of
impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, or
removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any public
office of honor, trust, or profit under this state; but the party
impeached shall be liable to indictment and punishment according to law.”
In the history of New York State, only one other Governor was impeached and removed from office. “William Sulzer was still only freshly in the New York State governorship when he chose to challenge Boss Charles Murphy of New York City’s Tammany Hall, who at the time was threatening to have the Legislature kill all Sulzer’s proposals if the governor didn’t stop vetoing Tammany bills… In the fall of 1913, less than a year after he went to Albany, Sulzer was… accused of laundering campaign funds…Sulzer, as it happened, appeared to be pretty guilty,,,(h)e had failed to add three checks totaling $9,000 in campaign contributions to the $5,460 he did declare. Purely an oversight, he insisted…. A tribunal consisting of the state Senate and the Court of Appeals convened in September (1913); a month later, this court found Sulzer guilty of perjury and filing a false campaign statement. On Oct. 17, he was removed from office. ‘If I had served Mr. Murphy instead of serving the state,’ Sulzer declaimed, ‘if I had obeyed Mr. Murphy instead of the dictates of my conscience Mr. Murphy would never have instituted this impeachment.'” (For the details of the career and impeachment of William Sulzer, see here.
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Even though he has resigned his office, Cuomo may still face criminal charges. According to CNBC, “(t)he district attorneys of Manhattan, and Westchester and Nassau counties, joined the Albany County DA in seeking investigative materials collected for (the James) report…(a) spokesperson for Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. told NBC later Wednesday that, ‘When our office learned yesterday that the Attorney General’s investigation of the Governor’s conduct was complete, our office contacted the Attorney General’s Office to begin requesting investigative materials in their possession pertaining to incidents that occurred in Manhattan.’”
However, as we recently discussed the highest level crime he could be charged with is the Class A misdemeanor of Forcible Touching. “For someone of the governor’s stature,” we stated, “most prosecutors would rather pursue a felony charge, such as rape or felony sexual misconduct.”
In our last report, we concluded that “Andrew Cuomo appears to be the only Democratic politician left in New York (and possibly nationwide) who thinks he can still lead after these revelations.” While she is not a politician, as of last week, Andrea Peyser of the New York Post was among those who remained optimistic about Cuomo’s chances to not only remain in office, but to win reelection. “If anyone can retain his job, his self-respect and his mind after being accused of touching, groping, bullying – or some combination of all three – 11 women without their consent, it’s Andrew Cuomo… while new polls show he’s lost a majority of voters’ support, he still has friends, allies and fans, who could flood back into his corner at a moment’s notice should he present a compelling case for his innocence. Beating this will be tough, but far from impossible… Just wait. Pretty soon, all will be forgiven.”
While not as cheerful about the “Love Gov’s” prospects as Ms Peyser, I too believed it was too soon to count Cuomo out. He may have believed himself to be the only alternative to a takeover of New York State by Progressives like Attorney General Letitia James. He may also have believed he could weather this storm and even beat an impeachment.
Either way, New York State is in for some interesting political drama over the next few months.
Judge Wilson (ret.) served on the bench in New York City
Photo: Albany’s Capitol Plaza