Tedisco, Jordan pressing for Cuomo impeachment
ALBANY, N.Y. >> New York State Sens. Jim Tedisco (R,C-Glenville) and Daphne Jordan (R,CHalfmoon) are calling on the Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Lavine and members of the Committee to move forward and expedite the impeachment of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who announced that he will resign from office in 14 days.
A day after Cuomo’s announcement, Tedisco and Jordan sent a letter to Lavine urging the Judiciary Committee to immediately move forward with impeachment so the full Assembly can vote to impeach him thereby removing him from office immediately before the 14 days are up. That would also allow a trial to be held after 30 days in the Senate to prohibit him from ever running or holding public office in New York State again and putting New Yorkers in harm’s way if he’s found guilty.
Tedisco and Jordan also are requesting the Judiciary Committee issue a stern legal warning to the Governor and his staff not to delete, destroy or manipulate any emails, documents, or other public records on their way out the door.
In addition to the Judiciary Committee’s inquiry, the Governor is facing multiple criminal and civil investigations on the local, state, and federal levels including by the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn for his alleged cover-up of the deaths of thousands of people in nursing homes, use of state staff and resources to write a book for which he was paid $5.1 million, and whether he wrongly secured priority COVID-19 testing for his family and friends. The Governor is also being investigated for alleged improprieties in the construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge.
“We are very concerned about leaving this Governor and his enablers with their penchant for vindictiveness, mischief, deceit, and obstruction to remain in office for the next 14 days with the immense power that is constitutionally afforded the Executive Chamber. During this time, a lot of evidence can be destroyed or manipulated by the Governor and his cronies if left unchecked,” Tedisco stated.
“In short, Andrew Cuomo and his minions cannot be trusted to be in office another day longer, let alone 14 more days. That’s why the impeachment process must move forward immediately so the Assembly can decisively end Cuomo’s reign of terror over this state and the Senate can issue a penalty for the Governor’s criminal actions so he can’t run or hold office again,” Tedisco explained.
“Andrew Cuomo has a welldeserved reputation for vindictiveness and abuse of power. When someone resigns under an ethical cloud, as Cuomo did yesterday, it’s customary for them to immediately turn in their keys and clear out their personal belongings. Andrew Cuomo isn’t doing that. Instead, he’s hanging around for 13 more days, which is 13 days too many. The Assembly needs to stop its foot-dragging and move forward with Articles of Impeachment so we can remove Andrew Cuomo from power as expeditiously as possible before he can do further harm to the people of this state or try and target his many accusers,” Jordan noted.
“Disgraced outgoing Governor Andrew Cuomo’s ‘legacy’ includes the disastrous, deadly policy that forced nursing homes to accept COVID-19 positive patients and claimed the lives of over 15,000 New Yorkers, a highly suspect book deal, questions about the safety and structural integrity of the former Tappan Zee Bridge, his family, and friends receiving preferential treatment for COVID-19 testing, as well as repeated attempts by his administration to cover up these and other misdeeds. New Yorkers demand — and deserve — accountability and answers as to the whole host of ongoing investigations of the many scandals and alleged criminality of outgoing Governor Cuomo. That’s why it’s critical that the remaining staff at the soon-to-be-former Cuomo Administration receive clear legal guidance that vital records and other documents are official public records and must not be destroyed or manipulated to try and hide any potential culpability of Andrew Cuomo or his lieutenants,” Jordan added.