Lawmakers on the panel leading an investigation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo have seen information that shows violations of the public officers' law, the top Republican on the Assembly Judiciary Committee said in a Capital Tonight interview.
"There are certain provisions of the things that he has done, what we've seen information come in on, that would be violations of the public officers' law," Assemblyman Michael Montesano said.
The investigation of Cuomo, initially a probe that could have led to his impeachment, was suspended on Friday by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. That announcement was reversed on Monday, and Heastie said a report would be issued by the panel.
Lawmakers this week on the panel are set to review additional evidence in the Cuomo investigation. Lawmakers for most of the year have been investigating a range of controversies facing Cuomo, including the allegations of sexual harassment, the reporting of nursing home COVID-19 fatality data, as well as the use of state resources by the governor to help him write a book about the pandemic.
For now, lawmakers cannot provide specifics of the documents they are reviewing or what wrongdoing has been deteremined.
"Unfortunately, I can't disclose that at this point," Montesano said. "We're going to be spending the rest of this week going through the evidence and then a report will be issued."
The report released this month by Attorney General Letitia James's office determined multiple state and federal laws related to sexual harassment were broken — all are civil violations.
Cuomo is also facing a criminal investigation in Albany County by Sheriff Craig Apple's office following the allegation the governor inappropriately touched a woman working for his office, Brittany Commisso. James' office is also investigating the governor's book and federal prosecutors in Brooklyn are probing the reporting of nursing data.
It remains unclear if the Assembly's report will lead to Cuomo's impeachment; he's set to leave office next Tuesday. But Montesano wants the report to be exhaustive given the nature of the range of scandals that have unfolded this year.
"I want to be comprehensive like the attorney general's," he said.