The threat of impeachment helped push New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign. But with Tuesday’s announcement that he would step down in two weeks, it remained an open question whether state lawmakers could nevertheless push ahead with impeachment proceedings and try to bar him from future statewide office. Just as questions swirled over the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump in his final days in office, there is uncertainty over the practicality of trying to impeach the three-term Democrat partly over allegations he harassed at least 11 women. Some legal and political experts said that while people still may be interested in a process that holds Cuomo accountable, it is unclear whether lawmakers would have either the political will or the legal authority to impeach him on his way out the door. “I’m not sure what the purpose of impeachment is. Impeachment is to remove him from office,” said Bennett Gershman, a law professor at Pace University. “He’s got to be impeached and then then convicted by the Senate, and that’s a lot of work, a lot of hours. You’d think that these New York state representatives have better things to do than sit in judgment of a governor who’s already resigned.” Although he has apologized for some of his behavior with women, Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing. A lightning-round effort to impeach Cuomo before he leaves seems unlikely. The state Assembly’s Judiciary Committee — the first stop for any impeachment matter — has been exploring whether there are grounds to impeach him since March, examining the harassment allegations but also other issues, like the governor’s handling of COVID deaths in nursing homes. After Cuomo announced his plan to resign, the committee said it intended to finish that inquiry before deciding how to proceed. Its next meeting is set for Monday. In the meantime, the committee has asked lawyers to look into whether impeachment could move forward. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will succeed Cuomo, declined to weigh in on the matter during a press conference Wednesday. The end result — Cuomo out of office — is already a certainty, said Assembly Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Lavine, a Democrat. “Impeachment itself is going to be moot. It’s not going to be meaningful,” Lavine said, unless to “prohibit him from ever again occupying statewide office.” The state Legislature — both chambers are controlled by Democrats — would have to muster the political will to quickly move forward with impeachment hearings, Gershman said, and would only do so as a punitive act to bar Cuomo from again seeking state office and possibly strip him of the perks accorded to elected officials who leave under normal circumstances. “I think that scenario is incredibly unlikely,” said Ross Garber, an attorney who has represented four recent U.S. governors facing impeachment proceedings in their respective states. His reading of state law is that a person must be in office at the time of impeachment, citing discussions in 1853 by the Assembly Judiciary Committee. But that interpretation has never been tested. Only once before has a New York governor been impeached. In 1913, during the state’s notorious Tammany Hall era, Gov. William Sulzer was impeached — just 10 months after being sworn in. It would take a simple majority of the Assembly to advance articles […]
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