{"id":324435,"date":"2021-08-13T22:07:59","date_gmt":"2021-08-13T19:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/cuomo-impeachment-probe-suspended-after-governor-resigns-despite-credible-evidence-of-wrongdoing\/"},"modified":"2021-08-13T22:07:59","modified_gmt":"2021-08-13T19:07:59","slug":"cuomo-impeachment-probe-suspended-after-governor-resigns-despite-credible-evidence-of-wrongdoing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/cuomo-impeachment-probe-suspended-after-governor-resigns-despite-credible-evidence-of-wrongdoing\/","title":{"rendered":"#Cuomo impeachment probe suspended after governor resigns despite &#8216;credible&#8217; evidence of wrongdoing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;<strong>#Cuomo impeachment probe suspended after governor resigns despite &#8216;credible&#8217; evidence of wrongdoing<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n        <\/aside>\n<p>Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie\u00a0said Friday he\u00a0will \u201csuspend\u201d the impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo,\u00a0arguing\u00a0that the probe was unneeded after the scandal-scarred executive\u00a0announced his intention to resign, even though\u00a0investigators\u00a0had\u00a0found evidence of misconduct.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[T]he Assembly will suspend its impeachment investigation upon the governor\u2019s resignation taking effect on August 25,\u201d Heastie said in a statement released by his office Friday, in a decision that he said was backed by his fellow Democrats, who control the chamber.<\/p>\n<p>The Assembly\u2019s attorneys concluded that New York\u2019s state constitution did not allow them to move to impeach an official who had already stepped down from office,\u00a0Heastie\u00a0said.<\/p>\n<p>The\u00a0announcement came\u00a0just three days after Cuomo stunned the state by announcing he would resign from office instead of battling for his political survival following the publication of a bombshell 168-page report from Attorney <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a> Letitia James, which allege he sexually harassed or groped 11 women, including several state employees, which he has repeatedly denied.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with New York Magazine published Friday, his first since announcing his resignation, Cuomo claimed he would have escaped impeachment \u2014 and that the Legislature would have ended up looking \u201clike a ship of fools.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not gonna drag the state through the mud, through a three-month, four-month impeachment, and then win, and have made the State Legislature and the state government look like a ship of fools, when everything I\u2019ve done all my life was for the exact opposite,\u201d he told the mag. \u201cI\u2019m not doing that. I feel good. I\u2019m not a martyr. It\u2019s just, I saw the options, option A, option B.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/cuomo-11-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19120098\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/cuomo-11-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/cuomo-11-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/cuomo-11-1.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">AP<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI feel like I did the right thing. I did the right thing for the state,\u201d by resigning, Cuomo added.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/spectrumlocalnews.com\/nys\/central-ny\/ny-state-of-politics\/2021\/08\/13\/heastie--constitutional-concerns-led-to-impeachment-probe-s-pause\">with Spectrum News 1\u2019s \u201cCapital Tonight\u201d,<\/a> Heastie denied claims that he had halted the investigation as part of a deal with the governor.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere was no deal,\u201d Heastie said. \u201cI\u2019ve said that 150 times and I\u2019ll make that the 151st time.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/carl-heastie-01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1024\" alt=\"Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie\" class=\"wp-image-19123746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/carl-heastie-01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/carl-heastie-01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/carl-heastie-01.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie will \u201csuspend\u201d the impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo even though it had found evidence of misconduct.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">REUTERS\/Cindy Schultz<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Lawmakers were blindsided by Heastie\u2019s announcement, which came as progressive members and reformers in his caucus pushed to continue the probe if only to produce a public report, sources told The Post.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe State of New York deserves an official report on the investigation our committee and our attorney have conducted on the four charges,\u201d Assemblyman Tom Abinanti (D-Westchester), who sits on the committee that was leading the probe and said he was only informed of the decision to suspend the probe Friday morning. \u201cClosing the committee investigation at this point is premature. Gov. Cuomo has not even left office.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The six Republican members of the Assembly\u2019s Judiciary Committee said in a statement that they were \u201coutraged\u201d by Heastie\u2019s decision and called for the panel to release a full report of what it had uncovered so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet there be no mistake, this decision was reached by the Democrat leadership in the Assembly without consultation or <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roval of the entire Judiciary Committee,\u201d their statement read. \u201cNot only does this represent an egregious insult to the countless victims of Gov. Cuomo\u2019s actions, but it is offensive to the men and women who have invested their time and energy on a critical investigation into public corruption.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile some are intent on bringing the pursuit of truth to an abrupt end, we firmly believe our work is far from complete,\u201d the members added. \u201cAt a minimum, the public deserves to see the results of the five-month investigation which they paid for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to the harassment allegations, the Assembly\u2019s impeachment probe was also examining allegations that Cuomo used taxpayer resources to draft his $5 million COVID memoir, misled the public about nursing home deaths during the pandemic and covered up safety issues at the new Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, which\u00a0replaced the Tappan Zee.<\/p>\n<p>The committee\u2019s chairman, Charles Lavine (D-Long Island) refused Friday to commit to releasing a report detailing the probe\u2019s findings, despite calls from lawmakers like Abinanti.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI will discuss matters such as these after the Cuomo resignation,\u201d Lavine told The Post before hanging up on the reporter.<\/p>\n<p>Cuomo\u2019s victims were also outraged by Heastie\u2019s abrupt decision to pull the plug on the probe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Assembly\u2019s decision to call off its impeachment investigation is an unjust cop out,\u201d tweeted Lindsey Boylan, who was the first woman to accuse Cuomo publicly of misconduct. \u201cThe public deserves to know the extent of the Governor\u2019s misdeeds and possible crimes. His victims deserve justice and to know he will not be able to harm others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And one of the state senators who would have helped decide Cuomo\u2019s fate in any impeachment trial was similarly upset.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is incredibly disappointing, and ensures that there will be no accountability or justice for the Governor\u2019s misdeeds,\u201d tweeted state Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn). \u201cI hope that whatever evidence was collected as part of the impeachment inquiry is acted upon expeditiously by the appropriate and relevant authorities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In his statement, Heastie (D-Bronx) offered a glimpse into the \u201ccredible\u201d evidence already uncovered by the Assembly\u2019s investigators \u201cin relation to allegations that have been made in reference to the governor.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n    <\/aside>\n<p>\u201cUnderscoring the depth of this investigation, this evidence concerned not only sexual harassment and misconduct but also the misuse of state resources in relation to the publication of the governor\u2019s memoir as well as improper and misleading disclosure of nursing home data during the COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d he said. \u201cThis evidence \u2014 we believe \u2014 could likely have resulted in articles of impeachment had he not resigned.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Heastie said that he had instructed the chair of the Assembly\u2019s Judiciary Committee,\u00a0Charles Lavine (D-Long Island), who\u00a0was overseeing the probe, to turn the evidence\u00a0he\u2019d assembledover\u00a0tofederal and local prosecutors\u00a0for their own probes.<\/p>\n<p>The feds in Brooklyn are probing if Cuomo and other state officials misled authorities in Washington about pandemic-related deaths in nursing homes.<\/p>\n<p>Heastie cited those investigations as part of his justification for stopping the Assembly probe.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe concern behind that is if you\u2019re in the middle of an investigation and other law enforcement is in the middle of this, I don\u2019t want to step on their toes while there are criminal investigations that are ongoing,\u201d the speaker told \u201cCapitol Tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He also blasted Republicans accusing him of giving\u00a0the soon-to-be-former governor special treatment\u00a0as \u201chypocritical.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the Republicans are being a little hypocritical for trying to accuse me, the first Democratic Assembly speaker to call for the impeachment inquiry of a governor of my own party,\u201d Heastie said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t know how I can be accused of that if this committee uncovered evidence on the book and the nursing homes,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>But one of Cuomo\u2019s accusers told The Post that she would like to see him impeached just to bar him from ever holding statewide office again.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has almost $20 million in the bank and unless he\u2019s impeached he can use it to run again,\u201d said Karen Hinton, who was once worked for Cuomo and angered the governor by then working for Mayor Bill de Blasio, with whom\u00a0he frequently feuded.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on the AG report he\u2019s unfit for office,\u201d she added. \u201cThe impeachment should have continued to make sure he doesn\u2019t hold public office again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>Additional reporting by Samuel Chamberlain<\/em>\n                        <\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2021\/08\/13\/cuomo-impeachment-probe-suspended-after-governor-resigns-despite-credible-evidence-of-wrongdoing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#Cuomo impeachment probe suspended after governor resigns despite &#8216;credible&#8217; evidence of wrongdoing&#8221; Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie\u00a0said Friday he\u00a0will \u201csuspend\u201d the impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo,\u00a0arguing\u00a0that the probe was unneeded after the scandal-scarred executive\u00a0announced his intention to resign, even though\u00a0investigators\u00a0had\u00a0found evidence of misconduct. \u201c[T]he Assembly will suspend its impeachment investigation upon the governor\u2019s resignation taking&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":324436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/08\/cuomo-resignation-002.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[114188,71386,70430,82358,71972],"class_list":["post-324435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-8-13-21","tag-albany","tag-andrew-cuomo","tag-carl-heastie","tag-new-york-state-assembly"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}