Cuomo Lawyer to Hold Briefing as Pressure to Resign Over Sex Scandal Intensifies
What to Know
- Nearly 2/3 of the NY legislative body say they favor an impeachment trial of Gov. Andrew Cuomo won’t resign over the attorney general’s sexual harassment report and a criminal complaint an accuser filed
- Most registered New York voters agree the Democrat should be forced out if he won’t step down; that’s true across party lines
- Cuomo’s legal team has fully denied allegations put forth in the criminal complaint as well as the AG’s findings corroborating accusations from a total of 11 women of sexual harassment
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s outside counsel will brief reporters virtually once again Tuesday, a day after a state Assembly committee laid out a rough timeline for their impeachment investigation in the event the Democrat refuses to resign.
It wasn’t immediately clear what could be expected from Rita Glavin’s briefing, which is scheduled for 11 a.m. His legal team has consistently and forcefully denied allegations put forth in the criminal complaint as well as the attorney general report’s findings corroborating accusations of sexual harassment from 11 women.
Pressure has been mounting on all sides for the three-term governor to step down since the state attorney general released the bombshell sex harassment report conducted by outside investigators. A staffer’s decision to file a criminal complaint against Cuomo over alleged groping — and her choice to then come forward publicly — served to fan the flames. It was the first such complaint to be made.
Cuomo’s top aide Melissa DeRosa, named repeatedly in the attorney general’s report for allegedly trying to contain the scandal as it expanded, resigned from her longtime post by the governor’s side the night before the accuser’s TV interview.
Time’s Up Chairwoman Roberta Kaplan resigned her post Monday over ties to Cuomo, while a major union representing New York State Police added its name to the chorus of calls for his resignation. A state trooper who was on Cuomo’s protective detail is among the 11 women the AG found he allegedly harassed.
Trusted longtime advisers and supporters have backed away from Cuomo in a domino-like cascade — and both the internal and external fallout is only expected to further intensify the longer he resists demands to leave office. Cuomo’s Albany and Manhattan offices have been besieged by protests the last few days, many with signs reading, “RESIGN OR IMPEACH” or “CUOMO IS GUILTY.”
Most registered New York voters now agree, whether Democrat or Republican, that the governor should step down or face impeachment, according to a recent poll.
Nearly two-thirds of the state legislative body have already said they favor an impeachment trial if he won’t resign. That might not happen until next month, based on the timeline that was shared on Monday after Albany’s session.
Over the next “several weeks” the members of the Judiciary Committee expect to shift through thousands of documents and mountains of evidence stemming from the state’s sexual harassment probe and the ongoing investigation by the attorneys selected by the Assembly. Two more meetings have been set for Aug. 16 and 23.
“Beginning next week, committee members will be granted access in a secure location to the full evidence” provided by the attorney general’s office and collected by the committee’s investigators, Charles Lavine, chair of the Judiciary Committee, told reporters Monday following the morning’s executive session.
That evidence includes more than half a million pages of documentation related to the governor’s nursing home scandal, Lavine said.
“These sessions will conclude with a vote on articles of impeachment within a very short period,” he specified.
Cuomo Under Fire
After the committee investigates the evidence collected to date, the group wants to hear public testimony after the second executive session from experts related to sexual assault and harassment, as well as the impeachment process as it pertains to the state constitution. Then Lavine expects the committee will be ready to produce a report and articles of impeachment to be voted on by the Assembly.
“I believe this is going to be dealt with in weeks and not months,” Speaker Carl Heastie said at Monday’s press briefing, saying “it’s been very clear the majority of members have no confidence in (Cuomo) remaining in office.”
Heastie sought to tamp down speculation that a delay could give Cuomo an opportunity to negotiate a more graceful exit from office, perhaps by offering not to run for reelection.
“I am not negotiating any deals,” he said.
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