After facing public backlash, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced Monday morning that the Assembly impeachment team looking into Governor Andrew Cuomo would now be issuing a public report on evidence collected over the last five months.
When that report will be released is still unclear, and Assemblyman Charles Lavine’s office says no comment.
“The Assembly Judiciary Committee will continue to review evidence and issue a final report on its investigation of Governor Cuomo,” Heastie and Lavine said in a statement. “In doing so, the committee will take all appropriate steps to ensure that this effort does not interfere with various ongoing investigations by the United States Attorney concerning nursing home data; the attorney general concerning the governor's memoir; and local law enforcement authorities in five jurisdictions – Manhattan, Albany, Westchester, Nassau and Oswego – regarding possible criminal incidents of sexual misconduct.”
On Friday, Heastie announced that the Assembly would be suspending its impeachment investigation into Cuomo now that the governor is resigning in fewer than eight days. In his statement, Heastie said that evidence would be turned over to local authorities who are investigating Cuomo.
Right now, there are at least five active investigations by local law enforcement authorities in Manhattan, Albany, Westchester, Nassau and Oswego, looking into incidents of sexual misconduct that might have occurred in those jurisdictions.
Heastie, in his statement, said after speaking with lawyers they decided the constitution prohibited them from impeaching a governor after he has resigned. However, this has been debated by constitutional experts, and the only precedent set was over 100 years ago in a committee report.
Heastie, later on Capital Tonight, didn’t completely rule out the possibility of a report, but doubled down saying he didn’t want a report interfering with the ongoing criminal investigations.
“I guess that you could [issue a report],” Heastie said. “But the concern behind that is, if you’re in the middle of an investigation and other law enforcement areas are looking at this, I don’t want us to step on toes while they have criminal investigations on.”
Lavine also cancelled the scheduled meeting the Assembly Judiciary Committee was set to have with impeachment investigators on Monday. This was also the day impeachment investigators were supposed to review background evidence discovered by the attorney general’s investigation which substantiated claims of at least 11 women who say Cuomo sexually harassed them.
The Assembly Judiciary Committee was investigating the sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, if Cuomo used state resources to write his pandemic book, if his office covered up the number of COVID-19 related nursing home deaths and more.
Lawmakers, survivors of sexual harassment and families of loved ones lost to COVID-19 in nursing homes poured forward Friday evening and thorough the weekend, calling on the Assembly to at the very least turn over what evidence they had discovered.
“We completely have become reduced to nothing, and we should be ashamed of ourselves that we can't, even in the final hour of this darkest chapter in New York's history, can't be a proper check and balance on the executive,” Assemblyman Ron Kim said.