The New York State Assembly finalizes the impeachment of Governor Andrew Cuomo

The State Assembly of New York said this Thursday that it is close to completing its investigation into the alleged cases of sexual harassment carried out by the governor, Andrew Cuomo, and will “soon” consider items for impeachment proceedings.

This was stated in a statement by the president of the Assembly’s judicial commission, Charles Lavine, who announced that it has been given to the lawyers of Cuomo until August 13 to present arguments in his defense.

According to the note, “the commission’s investigation is drawing to a close and the Assembly will soon consider possible articles of ‘impeachment'” against the governor, who has lost the support of his fellow Democrats in the legislative chamber following the publication this week. of a report from the Attorney General’s Office detailing the alleged cases of harassment.

The report of the prosecutor of New York, Letitia James, is the result of five months of investigation into various allegations of harassment against Cuomo, after interviewing 179 people and obtaining 74,000 pieces of evidence, including documents, emails, messages and photos.

James noted that the governor violated “state and federal laws” by “sexually harassing multiple women, many of them young, with unwanted touching, kissing, hugging and inappropriate comments” between 2013 and 2020.

Cuomo has consistently denied the allegations and has so far resisted resigning despite repeated calls from many political figures, including the country’s president, Joe Biden.

The State Assembly had already launched an investigation in March into Cuomo, which covered several scandals, including allegations of harassment and his management of nursing homes during the pandemic.

The New York Lower House can greenlight the governor’s impeachment process with a simple majority vote, followed by impeachment in the state Senate, which is also controlled by Democrats.

If Cuomo is convicted in that process, he would have to step down and be replaced by his number two, Kathy Hochul.

Calls for the governor’s resignation have not stopped since the Attorney General’s report was released on Tuesday, which left Cuomo without the support of some of the groups that had been most loyal to him.

Today, the mayor of the Big Apple, also a Democrat Bill de Blasio, warned that Cuomo’s refusal to resign is “hurting” New Yorkers.

“Someone who spends 11 hours having to testify about their sexual harassment and assaults is not someone who is focused on fighting COVID, getting federal aid or giving rent support to those who need it,” said De Blasio, who for years maintains a strained relationship with Cuomo.

The mayor recommended to the governor that he step aside and close his political career with “an act of dignity”, although he considered it unlikely that he will do so.