New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is embroiled in the biggest scandal of his career with three women coming forward in the past week to accuse him of sexual harassment in recent years and while he was the state's chief executive.
Two former officials in the Cuomo administration, Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett, said Cuomo sexually harassed them on the job, including making romantic and sexual advances in the workplace that made both women feel uncomfortable. Boylan says she resigned in 2018 after Cuomo kissed her on the lips without consent.
And on Monday evening, The New York Times published the account of a third woman, Anna Ruch, who said Cuomo touched her and asked to kiss her at a 2019 wedding. A friend also present at the event took photos of the encounter, which showed Cuomo holding Ruch's face.
Additionally, Cuomo is accused by his own attorney general's office of covering up the extent of nursing home deaths in New York from COVID-19 after his administration required nursing homes to take COVID-19 positive patients. A report from Attorney General Letitia James accuses Cuomo of potentially undercounting nursing deaths by as much as 50%.
In a Sunday statement, Cuomo acknowledged that some of his comments to others in the workplace "have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation," adding, "To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that." He supports an independent investigation into his conduct and has directed state employees to fully comply with a probe.
Cuomo is facing a federal investigation over the nursing homes issue, and James' office is now tasked with selecting independent lawyers in private practice to conduct an independent investigation into the sexual misconduct allegations.
Both conservative Republicans and progressive Democrats alike in the legislature are united in their disdain for Cuomo's leadership and have strongly condemned the latest allegations of harassment. Democrats now hold supermajorities in both legislative chambers.
Already, several state lawmakers, a Democratic member of New York's congressional delegation, Rep. Kathleen Rice, and the influential Working Families Party have called on Cuomo to resign. Cuomo notably ran on the Working Families Party line in his last few elections for statewide office.
While Cuomo is known for his hard-charging and confrontational approach and there's no indication that he plans to resign yet, doing so could enable him to avoid either a possible impeachment or a reelection loss in 2022.
The last time a governor resigned was in early 2oo8, when former Gov. Eliot Spitzer left office after he admitted to extramarital affairs with sex workers. At that time, Lieutenant Governor David Paterson stepped in as governor and served until 2010, when Cuomo (formerly New York's attorney general) won election to the governorship.
If Cuomo doesn't resign and the allegations against him mount, he could also face impeachment. On Tuesday, six Democratic socialist state senators released a statement calling for impeachment proceedings against Cuomo.
Ultimately, whether or not Cuomo is impeached will come down to State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who are both Democrats.
The impeachment process in New York is very similar to how the impeachment of federal officials works in Congress.
A simple majority in the state assembly is required to impeach a governor and a two-thirds majority in the state senate is required to convict the official and remove them from office. The trial would be overseen by Janet DiFiore, Chief Justice of the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest court.
The last time a New York governor was impeached was in 1913, when the legislature impeached and removed former Gov. William Sulzer after he got into a nasty political battle with the Tammany Hall political machine.
If Cuomo either resigned or was removed, the state's Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul would take office and serve out the rest of Cuomo's term until 2023. If this scenario played out, Hochul would be New York's first female governor.
Hochul, who hails from western New York, cut her teeth in Erie County government before winning a 2011 special election for New York's 26th congressional district.
As a former staffer for the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Hochul earned a reputation as a well-connected and helpful ally for upstate issues in Washington.
In 2014, Cuomo named her as his running mate for reelection after Robert Duffy announced he would not run again as lieutenant governor. Lieutenant governors are elected separately from governors in New York.
Hochul has been a steady and vocal supporter of Cuomo since joining the administration, traversing the state in her characteristically packed public schedule to tout key initiatives.
Since the nursing home and sexual harassment scandals began drawing more press coverage, her schedule has been more limited, with only one virtual event listed for Tuesday.
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