NEW YORK — The New York state Assembly Judiciary Committee will release a final report on their impeachment investigation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, despite saying on Friday they were suspending the probe once the governor stepped down, according Speaker Carl Heastie and Chair Charles Lavine.
Monday’s news followed outrage over the weekend in reaction to the committee’s announcement Friday.
“The Assembly Judiciary Committee will continue to review evidence and issue a final report on its investigation of Governor Cuomo,” the statement from Heastie and Lavine reads.
Heasyie warned we may not see everything because that report will “take all appropriate steps to ensure that this effort does not interfere with various ongoing investigations.”
Read the full statement below.
The governor said last Tuesday, Aug. 10, that he would resign from office amid a scathing New York attorney general report that found he had sexually harassed 11 women.
However, Cuomo’s resignation was not a guarantee that impeachment was off the table.
Speculation swirled that New York lawmakers could move forward with articles of impeachment, not only related to sexual harassment allegations but also potentially for his administration’s handling of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes and a scandal surrounding his pandemic book.
The Assembly Judiciary Committee was expected to meet Monday to discuss future proceedings — until Speaker Carl Heastie said on Friday that the Assembly cannot impeach and remove an elected official no longer in office.
Mike Tannousis is a State Island Republican now sitting on the Judiciary Committee, which has been leading the impeachment investigation.
He has been pushing for at least some sort of public report. As a former prosecutor, he said he understands the need for some level of secrecy to protect the five local and several federal investigations into various allegations against Cuomo.
Within the next few days, assembly members said they will be looking at investigative findings in a secure setting, and begin drafting a report. There is no timeline for when the report will be published.
