What happens if Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigns from office or is impeached over a bombshell report finding he sexually harassed 11 women
AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool
- A bombshell investigation concluded that Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harrassed 11 women.
- He could resign from office or be impeached and removed by the state legislature.
- Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul would take over in both scenarios.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is embroiled in the biggest scandal of his career, with a bombshell report from the New York attorney general's office finding that the governor sexually harassed 11 women in violation of state and federal law while in office.
Most of the 11 women, seven of whom were partially or fully identified by name, worked directly in his administration. The women said they experienced inappropriate behavior from Cuomo in the workplace, including improper touching, kissing, and sexual and romantic advances.
The 165-page report, released Tuesday, does not carry inherent civil or criminal consequences for Cuomo, but could lead from his ouster from office.
In a pre-recorded statement aired after the report's release, Cuomo continued to defend himself against the allegations and maintain that he "never touched anyone inappropriately" while apologizing to one accuser, Charlotte Bennett, for his conduct towards her.
AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File
Both conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats alike in the state legislature are united in their disdain for Cuomo's leadership and have strongly condemned the compounding allegations of harassment. Democrats now hold supermajorities in both legislative chambers.
While Cuomo is known for the hard-charging and confrontational approach to politics that powered his rise to power, it's left him with few vocal allies in Albany.
In addition to the attorney general's investigation, the state assembly, led by Speaker Carl Heastie, has been pursuing an impeachment inquiry since March.
While the assembly's investigation had been proceeding slowly with few public updates and has been accused of covering for Cuomo by Bennett's lawyer, the AG's report could now jumpstart the impeachment process.
After the report's release, Heastie called its revelations "disturbing," "gut-wrenching," and "would indicate someone who is not fit for office."
"We will now undertake an in-depth examination of the report and its corresponding exhibits with our Assembly counsels as well as the legal firm we have retained to assist us." Heastie said in a statement. "We will have more to say in the very near future."
State Senate President Andrew Stewart-Cousins, who previously called on Cuomo to step down this spring, called his behavior "unacceptable" reiterated that Cuomo "must resign for the good of the state."
At least one lawmaker, Democratic Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou, told journalist Eoin Higgins that she has articles of impeachment drafted up, with another progressive lawmaker, Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, saying impeachment proceedings should start "within the next day."
AP Photo/Hans Pennink
Cuomo gave no indication that he plans to resign in his response to the AG report, but doing so could enable him to avoid either a possible impeachment or a reelection loss in 2022.
The last time a governor resigned was in early 2oo8, when former Gov. Eliot Spitzer left office after he admitted to having extramarital affairs with sex workers. At that time, Lieutenant Governor David Paterson stepped in as governor and served until 2010, when Cuomo (formerly New York's attorney general) won election to the governorship.
The impeachment process in New York is similar to how the impeachment of federal officials works in Congress.
A simple majority in the state Assembly is required to impeach a governor, if the governor is impeached, the articles go to the state's impeachment court for trial, and the lieutenant governor takes over as acting governor while the trial plays out, according to Syracuse.com.
The impeachment court normally consists of the lieutenant governor, the state Senate, and the justices of the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, but the lieutenant governor and the state Senate president do not serve on impeachment courts for governors.
A two-thirds majority of the state Senate and the justices of the New York Court of Appeals would be required to convict Cuomo and remove him from office. The trial would be overseen by Chief Justice Janet DiFiore of the Court of Appeals.
The last time a New York governor was impeached took place over a century ago in 1913, when the legislature impeached and removed former Gov. William Sulzer after he got into a nasty political battle with the Tammany Hall machine.
AP Photo/Mary Altaffer
If Cuomo either resigned or was removed through impeachment, the state's Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul would take office and serve out the rest of Cuomo's term until 2023. If this scenario plays out, Hochul would be New York's first female governor.
Hochul, who hails from western New York, cut her teeth in Erie County government before winning a 2011 special election for New York's 26th congressional district.
As a former staffer for the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Hochul earned a reputation as a well-connected and helpful ally for upstate issues in Washington.
In 2014, Cuomo named her as his running mate for reelection after Robert Duffy announced he would not run again as lieutenant governor. Lieutenant governors are elected separately from governors in New York.
Hochul has been a steady and vocal supporter of Cuomo since joining the administration, traversing the state in her characteristically packed public schedule to tout key initiatives.
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