Impeachment of Andrew Cuomo
| Impeachment of Andrew Cuomo | |
|---|---|
 The New York State Senate, pictured in 2020. | |
| Accused | Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York |
| Proponents | |
| Legislative votes | |
| Voting in the State Assembly | |
| Voting in the State Senate | |
The impeachment of Andrew Cuomo is a current event involving Andrew Cuomo, the 56th governor of New York. The accusations against Cuomo involve alleged sexual harassment, the manipulation of COVID-19-related deaths within New York nursing homes and possible cover up of structural problems afflicting the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.[1][2][3]
The impeachment process was initiated following the launch of an inquiry into Cuomo and his administration by the New York State Assembly on March 11, 2021.[4] The inquiry was controversial, with a leaked transcript of the meeting which launched it revealing discussions between assemblymembers over whether to launch an inquiry or publish articles of impeachment. Some accused the inquiry of being used to "buy time" for Cuomo.[5][6]
Background[edit]
Andrew Cuomo is the second governor of New York to face impeachment, after William Sulzer was impeached and removed from office in 1913 on charges of campaign finance fraud and perjury. Eliot Spitzer had resigned in 2008 before any impeachment could proceed against him for his involvement in a prostitution ring.[7]
Scandals[edit]
NYS_Senate_Majority_Leader_Andrea_Stewart-Cousins.jpg)
A year prior to the launch of the impeachment inquiry, Cuomo had been well-regarded within the media and by the public at-large.[8][9][10] Dubbed "America's Governor" for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York,[10] he was routinely celebrated as a competent leader amid the universal pandemic.[11]
In January 2021, a report filed by the attorney general of New York concluded the Cuomo administration had undercounted COVID-19-related deaths within nursing homes by as much as 50 percent.[10] On February 12, 2021, the New York Post leaked a conference call between Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa and top brass of the Democratic Party of New York. In the call, DeRosa admitted and apologized for withholding August 2020 death data.[12][13] On March 4, 2021, The New York Times found several Cuomo aides, including DeRosa, had intentionally manipulated death data to omit 9,250 fatalities in fear of triggering a federal investigation by the Department of Justice under the Trump administration.[2]
In December 2020, former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan alleged Cuomo had sexually assaulted her. She later elaborated on those claims in February 2021, alleging Cuomo had made several sexually suggestive remarks and forcibly kissed her on the mouth during a meeting.[14] By the launch of the impeachment inquiry, an additional five women came forward and made similar claims of sexual harassment perpetrated by Cuomo, including other former aides to his administration.[10] Cuomo personally denied all allegations of sexual harassment he was alleged to have committed, and pledged to "fully cooperate" with investigations into his workplace conduct.[1]
A lesser publicized scandal which contributed to the calls for impeachment were structural problems found plaguing the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, which some have accused the Cuomo administration of covering up.[3][15]
Inquiry[edit]
On March 11, 2021, the New York State Assembly convened a three-hour emergency meeting where it officially announced the granting of powers to the Judiciary Committee to launch an impeachment inquiry.[4] The inquiry would run parallel with separate investigations conducted by both U.S. Attorney Seth DuCharme of the Eastern District of New York, alongside the Federal Bureau of Investigation, into the undercounting of COVID-19-related deaths within nursing homes and by New York Attorney General Letitia James into the sexual harassment allegations involving Cuomo.[16][17]
Charlotte Bennett, one of the women accusing Cuomo of sexual harassment, met with investigatory members of the attorney general's office via Zoom on March 15. The meeting was reported to have lasted four hours and involved the handing over of an estimated 120 pages of personal records.[18][19] By this time concerns were voiced over Cuomo's ability to work with the New York legislature amid the crafting of the state budget by the April 1 deadline, due to a majority of legislators having either endorsed the impeachment or demanded he resign.[18]
On March 16, Yahoo! News obtained audio and leaked transcripts of a conference meeting held between Assembly leadership on the day of the inquiry's launch. In the leak, Speaker Carl Heastie said his decision to launch an inquiry and not introduce articles of impeachment was one of "due process".[5] An anonymous Albany source familiar with Heastie and New York politics argued to the outlet that he was "trying to buy time" and his decision to delegate an investigation to the Judiciary Committee would help the scandal die down due to it being an ineffective body with "no teeth".[5] Though most legislators in the meeting supported the decision, other New York legislators, such as Assemblymembers Jessica González-Rojas and Ron Kim, criticized Heastie's decision, with the former expressing worry the Assembly was "just buying time" and the latter declaring "[w]e can make excuses, we can do a number of different things, but we know what’s going on. We know what the truth is."[5] In response to the leaks, Heastie temporarily stopped Assembly voting on the same day as their publication and said, "I think whoever did that is a coward for going outside of this conference and doing something like that, and I just want to say it on the record. This shit needs to stop".[20]
Lindsey Boylan, the first of the Cuomo accusers, refused to participate in the impeachment inquiry led by the Assembly, calling it a "sham" over social media.[6]
Impeachment[edit]
Judiciary Committee hearings[edit]
On March 17, the New York State Assembly announced it had hired law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP to assist the Judiciary Committee in their investigation.[15]
Articles of impeachment[edit]
Assembly vote[edit]
On the day of the impeachment inquiry's launch, 40 Democratic assemblymembers, alongside 19 Democratic state senators, issued a joint letter calling for Cuomo's voluntary resignation.[21]
Trial[edit]
A deviation from federal impeachment procedures, when impeachment clears the lower house of the legislature, the lieutenant governor of New York ascends and temporarily serves as acting governor until a trial is concluded by the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state of New York.[22] As the New York State Senate votes on the charges, all seven members of the Court of Appeals vote alongside them. Acting Governor Kathy Hochul and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins would be forced to recuse themselves from the trial, due to being first and second in the line of succession to the governorship, respectively.[22]
All seven members of the Court of Appeals were appointed by Cuomo, including Chief Judge Janet DiFiore.[22][23]
Public opinion[edit]
| Poll source | Date(s) conducted | Sample size | Margin of error | Support[lower-alpha 1] | Oppose[lower-alpha 1] | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harvard CAPS / Harris Poll[24] | February 23–25, 2021 | 1778 | N/A | 71% | 29% | N/A |
Notes[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 These polls are color-coded relative to the margin of error (×2 for spread). If the poll is within the doubled margin of error, both colors are used. If the margin of error is, for example, 2.5, then the spread would be 5, so a 50% support / 45% oppose would be tied.
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 R. Sisak, Michael; Villeneuve, Marina (March 13, 2021). "How Cuomo investigation, possible impeachment could play out". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 14, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Goodman, J. David; Hakim, Danny (March 5, 2021). "Cuomo Aides Rewrote Nursing Home Report to Hide Higher Death Toll". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved 2021-03-07. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lyons, Brendan (March 7, 2021). "Broken bolts: Structural problems on the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge were covered up". Times Union. Archived from the original on March 15, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ferré-Sadurní, Luis; Goodman, J. David; McKinley, Jesse (March 11, 2021). "Cuomo Faces New Threat: Impeachment Inquiry Led by Democrats". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Walker, Hunter (March 16, 2021). "Inside the New York Democrats' messy fight over whether to impeach Andrew Cuomo". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 Prater, Nia (March 17, 2021). "Lindsey Boylan: I Won't Participate in 'Sham' Cuomo Impeachment Probe". New York. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Lenthang, Marlene (March 13, 2021). "Cuomo impeachment inquiry: How an investigation and trial would unfold". ABC News. Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Mahoney, Bill (March 23, 2020). "Andrew Cuomo, social media superstar". Politico. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ King, Gregory (February 20, 2021). "Cuomo's national star threatened by increased scrutiny over handling of nursing home deaths". CNN. Archived from the original on February 20, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Traister, Rebecca (March 12, 2021). "Andrew Cuomo's governorship has been defined by cruelty that disguised chronic mismanagement. Why was that celebrated for so long?". New York. Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Yablon, Alex (February 21, 2021). "Trump made Cuomo a Covid hero. A nursing home scandal proves the honeymoon's over". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Hogan, Bernadette; Campanile, Carl; Golding, Bruce (February 12, 2021). "Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa admits they hid nursing home data so feds wouldn't find out". New York Post. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Villeneuve, Marina (February 12, 2021). "Cuomo administration 'froze' over nursing home data requests". PBS. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 12, 2021. Retrieved February 12, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Prater, Nia (February 24, 2021). "Former Aide Accuses Governor Cuomo of Sexual Harassment". New York. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 15.0 15.1 Clukey, Keshia (March 17, 2021). "N.Y. Assembly Opens Cuomo Impeachment Inquiry, Hires Law Firm". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on March 18, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Dienst, Jonathan; Valiquette, Joe (February 17, 2021). "U.S. attorney, FBI investigating Cuomo's handling of nursing home deaths". NBC News. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved February 18, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Merica, Dan; Morales, Mark (March 13, 2021). "Here is what the potential impeachment of Gov. Andrew Cuomo could look like". CNN. Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 18.0 18.1 Villeneuve, Marina; Sisak, Michael R. (March 15, 2021). "Andrew Cuomo accuser speaks with investigators for 4 hours". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Albert, Victoria (March 16, 2021). "Cuomo accuser met with investigators for over 4 hours and shared more than 120 pages of documents, lawyer says". CBS News. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 16, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Walker, Hunter (March 16, 2021). "New York State Assembly vote halted following leaked debate over Cuomo impeachment". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 17, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Lahut, Jake (March 11, 2021). "59 New York Democrats issue joint letter calling in embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 McCarthy, Andrew C. (March 15, 2021). "Andrew Cuomo Faces a Rapidly Growing Impeachment Threat". National Review. Archived from the original on March 17, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ Sisak, Michael R.; Villeneuve, Marina (March 14, 2021). "How Cuomo Investigation, Possible Impeachment Could Play Out". WNBC. Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 15, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help) - ↑ "Monthly Harvard-Harris Poll: February 2021" (PDF). Harvard-Harris Poll. February 26, 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 6, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)
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