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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced his effective resignation following a damning sexual harassment investigation by the state attorney general, but he still faces several criminal investigations.
Cuomo has denied allegations in the state attorney general’s investigation, Letitia James, who claimed he engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with 11 women, including state employees, former and current, from 2013 to 2020.
Brittany Commisso, who was identified as’ No.1 executive assistant ‘in James’ report, said Cuomo grabbed her buttocks while they were taking a selfie in the Executive Mansion in 2019 and that in 2020 he reached under her blouse and grabbed her chest. She first came out publicly in a joint interview Monday with “CBS This Morning” and Albany Times Union, just days after becoming the first of Cuomo’s accusers to press charges against him.
NY GOVERNMENT. CUOMO Resigns AMID SEXUAL HARASSMENT SCANDAL
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said over the weekend his office was investigating Commisso’s complaint and that it could lead to criminal charges. Apple told The Times Union on Tuesday that Cuomo’s resignation, effective in two weeks, would not impact the investigation.
“His office was never discussed, although I appreciate that he puts New Yorkers first and stepping back,” Apple said.
District attorneys for Manhattan, Nassau, Oswego and Westchester counties also announced they are investigating allegations in James’ report.
Fox News contributor Andrew McCarthy, who served as the Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, told Fox News that there is currently no provision in New York law that would prohibit the governor to grant a self-pardon.
That said, McCarthy doesn’t think Cuomo will go this route.
“I don’t believe Cuomo would forgive himself, as the crime of trial and error for which he is investigated in the Commisso complaint is (a) considered a misdemeanor and not very serious (i.e. that it is not considered a crime of sexual assault), and (b) he vigorously denied the allegation and a pardon would amount to an admission of guilt, ”McCarthy said.
There have been a handful of cases in US history where governors have pardoned themselves. In 1911, Tennessee Gov. BW Hooper sentenced himself to two days in prison in order to “study the conditions firsthand,” and then pardoned himself a day later, Newsweek reported in 2017, citing articles of newspapers of the time.
In 1941, Washington Gov. Arthur Langlie, a Republican, involuntarily pardoned himself due to a stenographer’s error in a transcript, which was later corrected, according to the Newsweek report.
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And in 1956, Arkansas Democratic Governor Orval Faubus reportedly pardoned himself after being briefly jailed, though details surrounding the incident are unclear.
Cuomo’s office did not immediately return a request for comment on whether he was considering forgiving himself.
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, will take over as governor of New York once Cuomo’s resignation is effective on August 24.
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