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In early September, the Judiciary Committee could make a decision on whether to draft articles of impeachment against Mr. Cuomo.
The state constitution offers few parameters on the steps to be taken during an impeachment process, so lawmakers draw on examples of impeachment proceedings in other states, as well as proceedings against lower level officials. They also looked at the 1913 impeachment of Governor William Sulzer, the only governor to be impeached in New York history.
Lawmakers in the 150-seat assembly could remove Cuomo with a simple majority vote. But Mr Heastie will likely only proceed with impeachment if he has the support of a sufficient number of Democrats to vote in favor of impeachment, sticking to a long-standing convention in Albany of passing only measures supported by a majority of the party. in control.
Even though there is enough support among Republicans and Democrats to impeach, Mr. Heastie’s approach means 76 of 106 lawmakers who caucus with Democrats should support impeachment.
A trial would then be held in the state Senate, where Democrats have a majority, with a jury made up of most of the Senate members and the seven judges of the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, leader of the Democratic majority, is expected to abstain, in accordance with the state’s constitution.
A two-thirds majority is required to convict.
The state Senate has already started consulting outside legal experts on a possible lawsuit.
“We have been preparing for this eventuality since the spring, when we thought it might happen, but there are not many precedents for this situation,” said State Senator Michael Gianaris, Deputy Majority Leader. . “We’ve dug pretty deep into the legal analyzes on how to do it right.”
If convicted, Mr. Cuomo would be removed from his post and potentially permanently barred from seeking state-wide political office. He would be replaced by Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Hochul, a Democrat.
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