On Monday, Republican legislators in the New York State Assembly started drafting a resolution intended to begin impeachment proceedings against Governor Andrew Cuomo.
According to Syracuse.com, Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said he and his fellow Republicans cannot make the Democratic-majority Assembly address the measure. On Sunday, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, publicly called for Cuomo’s resignation.
Cuomo said on Sunday that he would not resign, even as he faces increasing backlash for allegedly sexually harassing multiple female aides and manipulating COVID-19 data to mislead the public about how many people died in nursing homes.
Barclay’s spokesperson told the New York Post the resolution would be introduced by the end of the day.
“If they [state Democrats] really believe in resignation, why not start impeachment?” Barclay told reporters on Monday.
Allegations began mounting in late February when Cuomo’s former aide, Lindsey Boylan, detailed her alleged encounters with the governor in a Medium blog post. She wrote that Cuomo, 63, “abused his power” to sexually harass her and other women in the workplace.
Boylan also recounted an instance in which Cuomo allegedly suggested they play strip poker aboard a private plane in October 2017.
Boylan, who reportedly first encountered Cuomo in January 2016, alleged he would touch her lower back, legs, and arms. Boylan wrote that she resigned in September 2018 because Cuomo’s top aides became hostile towards her for “speaking up for myself.” She said her resignation was also influenced by an instance in which Cuomo kissed her on the lips at his New York City office.
Since Boylan’s blog post was published, three more former aides have come forward and accused Cuomo of sexual harassment.
Cuomo has denied inappropriately touching anyone but apologized for behaving in a manner that made his female colleagues uncomfortable. His camp has not yet commented on Republican lawmakers’ plan to begin the impeachment process.
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[Featured image: Andrew Cuomo/AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool]
