On Wednesday March 17, 2021, Assemblymen Kevin Byrne and Kieran Lalor submitted detailed information to the Assembly Judiciary Committee making a case for at least a dozen counts of impeachment against Governor Andrew Cuomo.
The two Hudson Valley state lawmakers shared a letter outlining a list of specific impeachable offenses as well as a timeline they created dating back to the Governor’s controversial Department of Health March 25th mandate that prevented nursing homes from denying COVID-19 patients and prohibited those same facilities from requiring COVID-19 tests prior to admission or readmission.
The letter and timeline was addressed to Assembly Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Lavine who is leading the impeachment investigation into Governor Cuomo, and copied to members of the Judiciary Committee, in addition to Speaker Carl Heastie and Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay.
In the letter, Byrne & Lalor wrote, “While it is important your committee is provided the time and resources it needs to conduct a thorough investigation, it is critical that there be no delays in your work. It would be wrong to afford Governor Cuomo and his administration the opportunity to further misuse his office by utilizing the budget process to impede or influence your investigation.”
Byrne & Lalor outlined at least twelve potential counts of impeachment in their letter. They continued by writing, “We, like many of our colleagues, believe there is enough evidence already available to merit impeachment, but we appreciate the added thoroughness that will be provided through your own investigation. It is our hope that the information we provided to you in this letter will assist and accelerate your quest for truth, transparency and accountability.”
The Assemblymen closed in their letter, “No one is above the law. That includes our elected Governor. Twenty million New Yorkers, including the families of 15,000 nursing home victims are counting on you and your committee to swiftly pursue justice.”
More recently, it was reported that the Assembly Judiciary Committee Chair and/or Speaker decided to appoint a law firm, Davis Polk & Wardwell, to assist with the investigation. According to a March 17, 2021 article in the New York Post, Dennis Glazer spent more than thirty years as a partner at the firm. Mr. Glazer’s wife is Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, a known political ally of Governor Cuomo.
Assemblyman Byrne responded to the news, “While it’s understandable for the Assembly Judiciary Committee to contract with a firm to bolster its investigative abilities, it’s vital that the committee not simply delegate away its powers to investigate, especially not to a firm with a perceived conflict of interest. The task before them is far too important and should be free from any perceived conflict of interest or political influence. Again, it is my hope that the information provided to the committee by Assemblyman Lalor and myself will assist them with that task.”
Attached is a PDF of the Letter to Chairman Lavine and a PDF of the Timeline
The above information was previously distributed and made public for immediate release by the Office of Assemblyman Kevin Byrne