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N.Y. Lawmakers Name Law Firm For Cuomo Impeachment As Inquiry Moves Forward

This article is more than 3 years old.
Updated Mar 17, 2021, 12:37pm EDT

Topline

New York Assembly leaders announced Wednesday they had retained outside counsel to conduct legislators’ impeachment inquiry into Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the sexual misconduct allegations against him, pressing forward with the investigation as the governor refuses to step down—though critics say they’re not taking action quickly enough.

Key Facts

New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Judiciary Committee Chair Charles D. Levine announced they had retained law firm Davis Polk and Wardwell LLC to handle the investigation and “vigorously pursue all the evidence to determine the extent to which” Cuomo may have violated the law.

The law firm has ties to Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals Janet DiFiore, a Cuomo appointee he had previously tried—and later backed down from—naming to lead an investigation into the allegations against him, as the New York Law Journal reports her husband was previously a partner at the firm.

Debra Katz, the attorney for Cuomo accuser Charlotte Bennett, called the law firm’s appointment an “unacceptable conflict of interest” given the ties between DiFiore’s husband Dennis Glazer and Cuomo, and former Cuomo aide Lindsey Boylan, one of the women who has stepped forward with allegations about the governor, tweeted, “How can we guarantee an independent investigation?”

DiFiore “has neither any connection to the firm nor was involved with its choice by the Assembly Judiciary Committee,” New York’s Office of Court Administration said in a statement, noting Davis Polk “is a large multinational law firm with hundreds of employees and thousands of clients.”

Lawmakers announced the impeachment inquiry last week amid rising calls for the governor’s resignation and his continued refusal to do so, and as New York Attorney General Letitia James leads her own investigation into the sexual harassment claims.

Heastie said Monday the impeachment investigation is expected to be “broad” and go beyond the sexual misconduct allegations to include Cuomo’s alleged mishandling of Covid-19 nursing home death data, as well as reported issues with the construction of the Tappan Zee Bridge’s replacement, named for Cuomo’s father.

Chief Critic

Some New York Democrats have criticized the investigation as a stall tactic by Heastie to “buy time” for Cuomo, rather than formally move forward with the process by bringing articles of impeachment now. “The idea of a committee feels like we’re just kicking a can, to be quite honest,” Assemblywoman Jessica González-Rojas said on a March 11 lawmaker call, as reported by Yahoo News. “I don’t think the Judiciary Committee goes far enough, and I do worry we’re just buying time.”

Big Number

76. That’s how many votes in the 150-seat New York Assembly would be needed to impeach Cuomo, after which the issue would move to a trial in the state Senate and with the state Court of Appeals—including DiFiore. Democrats have a supermajority in the chamber with 106 seats, and approximately 50 Assembly lawmakers from both parties have called on Cuomo to resign, according to a list compiled by City & State New York.

Key Background

Cuomo has faced mounting calls to resign as seven women have stepped forward with allegations against the governor, and more have alleged a broader workplace culture that’s made women uncomfortable. The calls escalated Friday as a majority of New York’s Democratic lawmakers in Congress threw their support behind Cuomo’s resignation, and President Joe Biden told ABC News he believes the governor should resign—and will potentially be prosecuted—if James’ investigation confirms the allegations. Cuomo has repeatedly denied the accusations against him and refused to step down, and said politicians are “irresponsible” for supporting his resignation before the investigation finishes and “the facts” come out.

Further Reading

New York Lawmakers To Launch ‘Impeachment Investigation’ Into Cuomo (Forbes)

Inside the New York Democrats' messy fight over whether to impeach Andrew Cuomo (Yahoo News)

Cuomo Impeachment Probe Will Go Beyond Harassment Claims (Spectrum News)

Cuomo Impeachment Investigation Pushes Ahead, But Not Fast Enough For Some (NY State of Politics)

So How Does Impeachment Work In New York State? (Gothamist)

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