Gov. Cuomo trying to cut a deal to avoid impeachment: report
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has repeatedly rejected the growing chorus of demands from the people of the Empire State that he resign his post following the state attorney general's report detailing his unlawful sexual harassment of multiple women.
He has defied calls from leaders in his own party, including President Joe Biden himself, to get out of the Executive Mansion before things get worse, as he continues to deny the attorney general's allegations.
Now things are getting worse — and the Love Gov is working to strike a deal with state lawmakers to avoid getting booted from office, the New York Post reported Monday.
What's Cuomo doing now?
Defiant Gov. Cuomo has made a "last-ditch" attempt to keep his job as the state Assembly finalizes its impeachment plans following Attorney General Letitia James' damning conclusion following months of investigation into alleged sexual harassment by the governor.
According to the Post, Cuomo worked to "cut a deal" with the legislature, saying he would forget about his bid for a fourth term in exchange for not being impeached. And apparently, he was even quietly pushing the notion even before James released her report.
But Democratic officials and party leaders aren't biting.
"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," state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs told the paper.
"I never saw it as a viable option," Jacobs added — and he claims he said so to the governor's staff.
"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."
According to the Post, Team Cuomo has not given up on pursuing the deal.
One source told The City that the governor's people are still calling around trying to save his skin, but no one is taking them up on the offer.
What are Cuomo's pals saying?
But one Cuomo ally says the reports are not true.
Charlie King, a longtime friend of the governor who was allegedly one of the people making calls in an attempt to make a bargain, said the rumors of a proposed deal are untrue.
According to King, Cuomo wasn't going to run for another term anyway, so the gesture would have been meaningless.
"No," King said about the proposed deal. "He's not running for a fourth term, period."
However, that would likely come as a surprise to many Cuomo donors. As recently as late last month, they were putting money into Cuomo re-election coffers, WPIX-TV reported July 28.
Steve Cohen, a former federal prosecutor and longtime Cuomo adviser, told the governor it's time to call it quits, the Post reported.
Another top adviser, Larry Schwartz, has reportedly urged Cuomo to step down, a source told the Post.
And onetime Cuomo campaign chairman Bill Mulrow "personally appealed to the governor to resign," the paper reported.
"You don't need this," Mulrow told Cuomo.
Where is Chris Cuomo? CNN will turn to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as CNN host takes sudden 'vacation'
CNN host Chris Cuomo was nowhere to be found Friday night at 9 p.m. EST, the time when he typically hosts his primetime politics show on the cable news network. And he will be missing in action for at least the next week.
In fact, CNN viewers will be met by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) next Monday during Cuomo's primetime show.
What are the details?
Amid growing controversy over the role that Chris Cuomo played in the sexual harassment scandal of his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), Cuomo departed his day job on Friday reportedly for a "pre-planned vacation."
CNN's Michael Smerconish substituted for Cuomo on Friday.
According to the New York Times, Chris Cuomo allegedly previewed the vacation on his CNN podcast, which he hosts with fellow CNN host Don Lemon.
"Every year I take my birthday week off ... I'm looking forward to it," Cuomo, who will be going to the Hamptons, reportedly said. "I'll be fishing, I'll be hanging out with you, and I'll be making memories with the kids."
The timing of the vacation just so happened to conveniently coincide with growing demands for Gov. Cuomo to resign or be impeached and Chris Cuomo to be fired from CNN.
After New York Attorney General Letitia James announced this week that Gov. Cuomo had violated state and federal laws by sexually harassing nearly a dozen women, a report detailing the evidence against Gov. Cuomo revealed the role that Chris Cuomo played in helping his brother navigate the scandal. In fact, as NBC News noted, a statement released by Gov. Cuomo in February addressing the allegations "mirrored, nearly word for word," an email that Chris Cuomo had sent to Gov. Cuomo's then-chief of staff just prior to the statement's publication.
What about AOC?
CNN announced in a press release that the first episode of a documentary about Ocasio-Cortez, called "Being...AOC," would begin airing next Monday during Cuomo's show.
The press release stated:
In the first episode, [CNN host Dana] Bash speaks to Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, who gives one of her most personal on-camera interviews to date, opening up about her unique perspective on power and femininity, what drives her, and how threats against her and her previous experience with sexual assault impacted her perspective on January 6th.
Will Chris Cuomo be fired?
CNN has not commented publicly on Chris Cuomo's role in Gov. Cuomo's scandal.
The network, however, previously addressed a Washington Post story that revealed in May that Chris Cuomo had been involved in strategy calls with his brother's staff. CNN said "it was inappropriate to engage in conversations that included members of the Governor's staff, which Chris acknowledges," and added that Chris Cuomo "will not participate in such conversations going forward."
At the time, Chris Cuomo apologized to his CNN colleagues for participating in such meetings — but not to CNN viewers.
"When my brother's situation became turbulent, being looped into calls with other friends of his and advisers that did include some of his staff, I understand why that was a problem for CNN," he said. "It will not happen again. It was a mistake because I put my colleagues here who I believe are the best in the business in a bad spot. I never intended for that. I would never intend for that, and I am sorry for that."
Despite the breach of journalism ethics, CNN said Chris Cuomo would not be disciplined.
After Chris Cuomo's extensive involvement in Gov. Cuomo's scandal was further publicized in the New York attorney general's report this week, CNN only pointed media to previous statements the network had issued, BuzzFeed News reported.
All indications, therefore, suggest that CNN is standing by Chris Cuomo.
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