By John Gizzi(NEWSMAX)
New Yorkers are poised for the certain impeachment of Gov. Andrew Cuomo by the state Assembly, his trial, and possible removal by the state Senate.
While many out-of-state observers feel the three-term governor is political “toast,” others closer to the state capitol in Albany believe the regulations for trial and removal could actually favor Cuomo’s survival.
Should Cuomo be impeached by the 150-member State Assembly — 105 Democrats, 44 Republicans, and 1 Independence Party member — he would face trial before the 63-member State Senate — 43 Democrats and 20 Republicans.
But the Senate would be joined in judging the governor by the seven judges of the New York Court of Appeals — New York’s highest court — and all of them have been appointed by Cuomo.
The state laws governing impeachment require a two-thirds vote of the senate and the judges— 47 out of 70 — to remove the governor. So the final decision may easily come down to the seven “Cuomo judges.”
“They’re mostly liberal,” former Rep. John Faso, R.-NY., a onetime Republican leader of the state Assembly, told Newsmax. “Very liberal. And they are all Democrats except one.”
Notable liberals among the seven high court jurists are Judge Paul Feinman, formerly an elected Civil Court and state Supreme Court judge from Manhattan and Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, a Republican-turned-Democrat who was a two-term district attorney of Westchester County before Cuomo tapped her for the highest judicial post in New York.
As the Assembly commenced its impeachment inquiry, Cuomo got some good news. A just-completed Siena College Research Institute Poll found that among likely voters statewide, 35% believe he should leave office and 50% feel he should remain governor.
The same poll showed that 57% of voters are “satisfied” with how Cuomo has addressed the charges of sexual harassment that spawned the impeachment drive and calls for Cuomo’s resignation, and 32% say they are “not satisfied.”
“I expect the governor to try to hold onto power as a default position,” said Faso. “His fate will likely rest with the state attorney general special counsel looking into sex harassment allegations and the US Attorney investigating the nursing home coverup.”
