Anti-gun Democrat New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in for a rough ride that could end with an impeachment effort in the wake of serious allegations of sexual harassment of “multiple women” including executive assistant Brittany Commisso, who was interviewed by “CBS This Morning” and the Albany Times-Union.
Cuomo is disliked by Empire State gun owners for signing the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement (SAFE) Act in 2013, and for championing other gun control efforts. Last month, he declared a statewide “gun violence disaster emergency” and created the “Governor’s Council on Gun Violence Reduction.”
But now it is Cuomo, not guns, in the political crosshairs. According to the Wall Street Journal, “The New York State Assembly could announce findings of its impeachment investigation into Gov. Andrew Cuomo as early as this month.”
Cuomo has denied the allegations.
It’s not looking good for the governor, whose top aide Melissa DeRosa resigned late Sunday, according to CNN. The network noted this came “less than a week after the release of a report from the state attorney general that found Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women.”
Writing at Fox News, media analyst Howard Kurtz noted, “From major news organizations to liberal commentators, there is a remarkable unanimity of opinion that the governor must resign.”
A few lines later, Kurtz quotes the New York Times—previously a staunch Cuomo supporter—which has called on Cuomo to quit. “Regardless of what may happen in a court of law,” the Times said, “the governor has only one conscionable option left: He should resign …”
Likewise, the Washington Post “wants him out,” Kurtz added.
“If there was any doubt about Mr. Cuomo’s fitness to continue in office,” the WaPo said. “it was removed with the details of his treatment of women and the toxic culture of the governor’s executive chamber that enabled the harassment to occur. It is dispiriting to read in the report how the governor’s staff, acting either out of loyalty or fear, cosseted the governor and enabled his behavior.”
However, Cuomo appears to be playing a waiting game, which Ronn Blizter, writing at Fox News, describes as a strategy used by “many others in the past.” He specifically mentioned former President Bill Clinton, another Democrat, who played the denial game following scandalous allegations from Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey and Monica Lewinski, the latter providing evidence of an affair while she was a White House intern.
Blitzer’s report mentions Republicans as well as Democrats having ridden out storms while in office.
But the immediate attention is on Cuomo, who has also taken criticism for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic panic and deaths in nursing homes.
In his article, Kurtz explains why his former supporters in the media want Cuomo to step down, and also notes that powerful Democrat allies including Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand and Nancy Pelosi have also apparently said he should go.
“The Cuomo brand is now so toxic,” Kurtz wrote, “given the chilling details in the investigative report, that it’s untenable for Democrats to support him — or even stay silent.”
While it is not his extremist gun control policies that may drive him from office, a Cuomo departure is not going to bring tears to New York gun owners and activists.
