NEW YORK (AP) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo has urged New Yorkers to “wait for the facts.”
Patience, however, has been diluted. The two U.S. senators from the state, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and most of the other 29 members of the New York Congress delegation have called for his resignation. In the state legislature, more than 120 lawmakers have asked the Democrat to resign.
State Assembly leaders on Thursday announced an impeachment investigation, a first step toward Cuomo’s potential expulsion.
Cuomo has rejected resignation petitions and is betting on his political future as a result of an independent investigation by Attorney General Letitia James, which examines allegations that the governor sexually harassed or improperly touched several aides.
The following are the steps on a possible path to removal:
INVESTIGATION OF THE PROSECUTOR GENERAL
James, an independently elected Democrat, hired former U.S. Attorney General Joon Kim and labor discrimination lawyer Anne Clark to lead her investigation. in the work conduct of the governor.
The research team will have the power to cite documents and interview witnesses. Its conclusions will be presented in a public report.
Cuomo has since said he will “cooperate fully.”
James does not have the power to unilaterally dismiss Cuomo from office, but any findings corroborating the allegations could influence possible dismissal proceedings, or add pressure for Cuomo to leave voluntarily.
Kim and Clark may choose to limit their reach to complaints that are already public or expand it to look for other women who may have complaints about Cuomo’s behavior.
James’ office sent a letter last week instructing the governor’s office to preserve all evidence related to the harassment allegations. They could include documents and emails sent and sent by Cuomo staff, calendar entries and communications involving the transfer of one of their accusers to another office.
There is no deadline to complete the investigation and James has not said how long he hopes it will take. A 2010 investigation that Cuomo oversaw as Attorney General of his predecessor, Gov. David Paterson, lasted about five months.
Andrew G. Celli Jr., who was head of the civil rights office at the attorney general’s office from 1999 to 2003, said that while James is a Democrat, his independence would allow him to “do what he thinks is best. the interest of all the people, even if it means an adverse finding for the governor. “
THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE
The Judicial Committee of the Assembly shall also have power to cite documents and witnesses. He could rely on the work done by the Attorney General’s team of investigators or gather his own evidence.
The scope of her research could go beyond Cuomo’s behavior with women. The governor is also under fire for his treatment of the COVID-19 crisis in the state’s nursing homes.
Many lawmakers have been outraged that the Cuomo administration has refused, for months, to release the total number of nursing home patients killed by the virus.
The governor’s office said some of the data, related to the deaths of nursing home patients who had been taken to hospitals, were unreliable. But in a recorded conference call with lawmakers, Cuomo’s top aide said the administration withheld the data in late summer because he feared “death figures could be used against us.”
The work of the committee could lead to the drafting of articles of dismissal against Cuomo, although this result is by no means true.
One of the women who allegedly accused Cuomo of having palpated her has not spoken publicly about what happened and it is unclear if she would be willing to offer public testimony in an indictment trial.
THE PROCESS OF DIFFERENCE
The New York process of removing and removing a governor from office has some parallels – and some important differences – with the process the U.S. Congress uses to remove presidents.
As a federal level, New York dismissals begin in the lower house of the legislature, in this case in the Assembly. If a majority of members voted to remove Cuomo, a trial would be held for his removal from what is known as the Impeachment Court.
The tribunal is made up not only of members of the state Senate, but also judges of the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, which would also vote. There are seven appellate court judges and 63 senators, though not all of them would serve on the removal court.
Lt. Kathy Hochul (HOH-kull) and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins are also members, but are excluded when a governor is on trial. At least two-thirds of jurors must vote to convict in order to dismiss Cuomo.
Democrats control both houses of the legislature. Many have joined Republicans in demanding the resignation or removal of Cuomo in recent days. Cuomo has appointed the seven members of the appellate court.
New York only fired one governor once, in 1913, when Governor William Sulzer was bounced back after 289 days in office in which he claimed it was retribution for turning his back on the powerful Democratic machine Tammany Hall.
Sulzer, accused of failing to report thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and mixing campaign funds with personal funds, blasted the court’s secret deliberations, complaining: “A horse thief on border days would have received an agreement smaller “.
CUOMO SITUATION
If the Assembly blames Cuomo, state law could force him to step aside immediately, a dramatic difference from what happens when the president of the United States is indicted.
A section of the state judicial code regarding dismissal states, “No officer shall hold office, after articles of dismissal against him have been delivered to the Senate, until he is acquitted.”
According to the state constitution, then the lieutenant governor would take over.
“In the event that the governor is charged, absent from the state, or unable to develop the powers and duties of the office of governor, the lieutenant governor shall act as governor until the incapacity ceases or until the term of office of the governor expires.” , states the constitution.
When Sulzer was removed, Lieutenant Governor Martin Glynn was appointed acting governor.
If Cuomo were acquitted in a court of law, he would return to office. If the removal court removed him from office, Hochul would serve the remainder of Cuomo’s term, until the end of 2022. The court could also choose to disqualify him from holding office in the future, in addition to dismissing him.
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Villeneuve reported from Albany, New York.
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On Twitter, he followed Michael Sisak a twitter.com/mikesisak and Marina Villeneuve a https://twitter.com/reportermarina.