Politics

New York Assembly Republicans To Introduce Resolution To Impeach Cuomo

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• New York Republicans plan to introduce a resolution to impeach Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
• Cuomo faces new allegations of sexual misconduct as well as a federal probe into whether he knowingly undercounted COVID-19 nursing home deaths
• “We’re going to introduce this resolution because we believe the time has come,” Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said Monday.

New York Republicans plan to introduce a resolution to impeach Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

News of the impeachment resolution comes as Cuomo faces new allegations of sexual misconduct as well as a federal probe into whether he knowingly undercounted COVID-19 nursing home deaths. He refused Sunday to resign and said that lawmakers must impeach him if they wish him to leave office, according to the New York Post.

The lawmakers will introduce their resolution to impeach the governor before the end of the day Monday, a spokesman for Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay told the Post.

Today, I joined members of the @NYS_AM to announce plans to circulate an Impeachment Resolution.

When you lose trust and credibility, you lose the ability to lead.

Gov. Cuomo can no longer effectively govern New York.https://t.co/SSBIKOPJcj pic.twitter.com/Bz1UaPILK7

— Will Barclay (@WillABarclay) March 8, 2021

“We’re going to introduce this resolution because we believe the time has come,” Barclay said Monday, according to Newsweek. “In order to lead this great state as governor, you need to have credibility and trust … and unfortunately we feel the governor has lost that and now has an inability to lead.”

“There’s been one bombshell after another,” Barclay said. Cuomo currently faces two separate investigations: an investigation into his workplace behavior by the attorney general’s office, and a federal Department of Justice investigation into his role in undercounting nursing home deaths.

After leaked audio from a closed door meeting revealed that New York knowingly undercounted and hid data involving nursing home deaths in order to avoid a federal investigation, one New York state assemblyman launched a petition to impeach the governor. That petition had reached over 18,000 signatures in February.

Five women have come forward and accused the New York Democrat of sexual misconduct: the fifth accuser, former Cuomo aide Ana Liss, came forward with her allegations in a Wall Street Journal story published Saturday evening. Liss accused the governor of touching her lower back, kissing her hand, and inquiring about her relationship status.

I am not running for office in NY or New Orleans. I am not working for anybody who has a plan to run against Andrew. I’m a 62 yr old woman with no job because of my accident. I worked for Mayor to help him, not be disloyal to Andrew. It’s always, always, always about Andrew. https://t.co/859lQkOZWZ

— Karen Hinton (@KarenHinton) March 7, 2021

Karen Hinton told the Washington Post Saturday that Cuomo hugged her in an embrace that was “very long, too long, too tight, too intimate” in a dimly lit hotel room on a 2000 trip to Los Angeles. Cuomo was the head of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development at the time.

Anna Ruch met the New York Democrat at a September 2019 New York City wedding reception, she told the New York Times. Ruch said the governor put his hand on her bare back, moved close to her, told her she was “aggressive” when she removed his hand, placed his hands on her cheeks and asked her if he could kiss her.  Her friend later told her that he had kissed her cheek, she said.

Charlotte Bennett told the New York Times that the governor asked her about her sex life, asked her whether she practiced monogamy, whether she was interested in older men, and discussed her past sexual assault with her in an uncomfortable manner.

The same week, Lindsey Boylan accused the governor of kissing her without her consent during a one-on-one briefing, making her uncomfortable, and making a number of sexually charged comments to her.

“I was elected by the people of the state. I was not elected by politicians. I’m not going to resign because of allegations,” Cuomo said during a Sunday call with the press.

“The system is based on due process, and the credibility of the allegations,” he added. “Anybody has the ability to make an allegation in a democracy, and that’s great, but it’s in the credibility of the allegations.”