New York Assembly to suspend Cuomo impeachment investigation

New York’s top Democrat in the Assembly said Friday that his chamber will suspend its impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo once he steps down

Cuomo Sexual Harassment (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The New York state Assembly will suspend its impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo once he steps down, the chamber's top Democrat said Friday.

Cuomo announced his resignation on Tuesday over sexual harassment allegations, days after he faced increasing pressure to resign or face the possibility of being ousted by the Democratic-controlled Legislature through the impeachment process. He said at the time that it would not take effect for 14 days.

The state attorney general last week released an independent investigation that found Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women.

Speaker Carl Heastie said the Assembly Judiciary Committee had heard from its lawyers that it can’t impeach and remove an elected official no longer in office.

Some Democrats, including Assemblymember Ron Kim, had urged the Assembly to impeach Cuomo anyways to prevent him from running for office again in New York.