Members of the Assembly committee leading the impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo say there is still interest in pursuing a probe despite Cuomo’s resignation.
“I want to keep going because there are too many outstanding issues that I think we need to provide some closure for the public,” said Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, who is part of the Assembly impeachment team. “I've already received phone calls from individuals to my office who have lost loved ones in nursing homes due to COVID. I think it's really important that we do not drop that. And there's also other questions as far as the misappropriation of state funds, resources for the book and the book deal, preferential treatment as far as vaccines or COVID testing, you know, there's more to do.”
The Assembly Judiciary Committee is investigating not only the sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, but also whether his administration covered up COVID-19 nursing home deaths, if Cuomo used state resources to help him write his pandemic book, if his office intimidated witnesses from coming forward and more.
“If it were up to me alone, I would say let's keep going, but we're going to find out from our attorneys if we can and then we're going to find out what the other 19 or so members of the committee want to do,” Walsh said.
Assemblyman Charles Lavine, who chairs the committee, said on Monday before Cuomo’s announcement on leaving office that the Assembly could move forward with impeachment in order to keep Cuomo from occupying a statewide office again.
“We may very well have the authority to do that, and I wouldn't discount that for a moment,” Lavine said.
He said impeachment itself may be moot, but there would be the “opportunity in the court of impeachment to prohibit him from ever again occupying a statewide office.”