Gov. Andrew Cuomo has until Friday to respond to the
attorney general's sexual harassment report while state lawmakers work to oust
him from office.
The Assembly Judiciary Committee, the group overseeing the
impeachment investigation, is set to meet for the first time since the
bombshell report that alleges Gov. Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women.
Michael Montesano, of Glen Head, is the leading Republican
on the committee.
“There is a lot of anxiousness among the legislators and the
public,” he said. “They want this done and feel that every day that the
governor continues is a danger to New Yorkers, to staff members, witnesses –
and we have an ineffective government.”
The committee is set to sit down Monday and go through the
attorney general report and more than 100,000 pages of documents, emails and
text messages that the Assembly has subpoenaed from state employees and
agencies.
Montesano says this investigation is more wide reaching.
It's also looking into the governor using state resources for his
multimillion-dollar book deal and the alleged mishandling of nursing homes
during the height of the pandemic.
A New York governor has not been impeached since 1913.
“This is ground that hasn't been touched in over 100 years
and there's a lot of history research being done,” says Jerry Kremer, a News 12
political analyst and former assemblyman.
Gov. Cuomo has denied the allegations against him. His
attorney says he will cooperate and provide evidence by Friday's deadline. It
does not appear that the governor has any plans to resign.
But even his closest allies are calling for him to step
down, including Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York State Democratic Committee.
“The best course of action right now would be to just step
aside and let's get us moving forward," he said.
The articles of impeachment are expected to be in front of
the full Assembly by the end of the month. If they vote to impeach Gov. Cuomo,
he will be immediately suspended as governor and Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul
will step in while the impeachment case goes before the state Senate.