Cuomo Scrambled To Cut 11th Hour Deal To Avoid Impeachment

Embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo tried to cut a deal with the state legislature in exchange for not getting impeached, according to the New York Post.

In an 11th hour plea to keep his job before a bombshell report on sexual misconduct was set to be released by state Attorney General Letitia James, Cuomo offered to drop his bid for a fourth-term.

“It was something that was floated to me by the folks in the Cuomo camp as a possible option before the attorney general’s report came out,” said NY State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs in a statement to the Post, adding “I never saw it as a viable option.“

Still, it looks like Cuomo and his winnowed-down inner circle haven’t given up on the last-ditch effort to avoid impeachment.

A source told The City on Monday that the gov’s team has been busy making calls to try to save his skin in the wake of the official report, which concluded Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women in violation of state and federal law. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Before she resigned Sunday night, top aide and confidante Melissa DeRosa had been asking executive staffers for strategies to quiet the impeachment talks, the source told The City. –New York Post

According to Jacobs, he told the governor’s staff that the plan wouldn’t work.

“I shot it down pretty quick,” he said. “Either you can survive the AG’s report and run again or you don’t survive the AG’s report. There’s no compromise.”

Cuomo reportedly reached out to the state legislature through a longtime pal, Charlie King – who told the Post “No. He’s not running for a fourth term, period.”

Per the Post, several other longtime Cuomo advisers – including former federal prosecutor Steve Cohen and top adviser Larry Schwartz – have urged him to step down.

“You don’t need this,” said Cuomo pal and 2018 campaign chairman Bill Mulrow, who has apparently complained to others over the governor’s refusal to step down before his current term ends on December 31, 2022.

We doubt the NY legislature will allow that to happen.

The state Assembly Judiciary Committee met in Albany Monday for updates on its investigation into Cuomo.

The committee had told him that it was “nearing completion” of the probe and would “consider potential articles of impeachment.”

He was given until Friday to submit any information he wanted the panel to consider in its findings. -NY Post

 How long until articles of impeachment are filed?