New York Assembly to suspend Cuomo impeachment investigation

ALBANY, N.Y. – The New York authorities Assembly volition suspend its impeachment probe into Gov. Andrew Cuomo erstwhile helium steps down, the chamber's apical Democrat said Friday.

Cuomo announced his resignation connected Tuesday implicit intersexual harassment allegations, days aft helium faced expanding unit to resign oregon look the anticipation of being ousted by the Democratic-controlled Legislature done the impeachment process. Cuomo said astatine the clip that it would not instrumentality effect for 14 days, astatine which constituent helium volition beryllium replaced by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The authorities lawyer wide past week released an autarkic probe that found Cuomo sexually harassed at slightest 11 women.

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Speaker Carl Heastie said successful a connection that the Assembly Judiciary Committee had heard from its lawyers that it can’t impeach and region an elected authoritative nary longer successful office. Nevertheless, Heastie said, the grounds the committee had gathered “could apt person resulted successful articles of impeachment had helium not resigned.”

Since March, extracurricular lawyers person been helping the committee behaviour a wide-ranging probe connected whether determination were grounds to impeach Cuomo, a Democrat. The announcement came connected a time the Assembly had initially acceptable arsenic a deadline for Cuomo’s ineligible team to respond with immoderate further grounds refuting the allegations against him.

Cuomo’s bureau and lawyer, Rita Glavin, didn’t respond to aggregate requests for remark from The Associated Press astir whether the politician was going to comply with the deadline.

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“Let maine beryllium wide — the committee’s enactment implicit the past respective months, though not complete, did uncover credible grounds successful narration to allegations that person been made successful notation to the governor,” Lavine said.

That included grounds related to intersexual harassment, the misuse of authorities resources successful conjunction with publication of the governor’s book connected the pandemic, and “improper and misleading disclosure of nursing location data.”

As the reply to the ineligible question of impeaching a departed authoritative remained unclear for respective days, immoderate Democrats, including Assemblymember Ron Kim, had urged the Assembly to impeach Cuomo anyhow to forestall him from moving for bureau again successful New York.

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Heastie said that he’s asked Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Lavine to crook implicit “to the applicable investigatory authorities each the grounds the committee has gathered.”

Cuomo faces ongoing probes from the authorities lawyer wide implicit his $5 cardinal publication woody and from authorities prosecutors, who are scrutinizing his handling of nursing location deaths data. The state’s morals commissioners, who could levy fines against Cuomo, are besides looking into akin issues.

Heastie besides cited “active investigations” by region territory attorneys successful Manhattan, Albany, Westchester, Nassau and Oswego concerning incidents of alleged intersexual harassment by Cuomo.

Several women person said the politician inappropriately touched them, including a existent adjutant who said helium groped her breasts astatine his authoritative residence, the Executive Mansion, past November. That aide, Brittany Commisso, filed a transgression ailment that could effect successful a misdemeanor groping charge.

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Some Judiciary committee members, including Democrats Phil Steck and Kenneth Braunstein, said Friday greeting that they wanted the committee to astatine slightest merchandise a study of their findings to the public.

Heastie’s connection didn’t accidental whether the committee would inactive publicize its findings.

Heastie’s spokeperson Mike Whyland didn’t respond to repeated requests for remark Friday. Heastie connected Monday estimated the probe has outgo taxpayers “millions” truthful far, but didn’t respond to repeated requests by the AP for an estimate.

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