3 August 2021: Heastie Caves, Will "Expedite" Impeachment Proceedings

Assembly Speaker Heastie: Democratic majority has lost confidence in Gov. Cuomo

Andrew M. Cuomo's best political friend since news of his scandals began breaking, NY Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who's name has become synonymous with "slow walking", is caving to pressure to move forward faster with Cuomo's impeachment.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie issued a statement saying, "After our conference this afternoon to discuss the attorney general's report concerning sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Cuomo, it is abundantly clear to me that the governor has lost the confidence of the Assembly Democratic majority and that he can no longer remain in office. Once we receive all relevant documents and evidence from the attorney general, we will move expeditiously and look to conclude our impeachment investigation as quickly as possible."

If you parse that statement, he's still giving himself an out to continue slow-walking the Assembly's impeachment process, but he will no longer be able to move at his preferred snail's pace to continue protecting Andrew M. Cuomo's and his shared interests.

Meanwhile, this report includes the following tidbit estimating the political damage to Cuomo from the attorney general's blockbuster report.

Christopher Malone, a political science professor at Molloy College, says the ramifications on Cuomo's political future cannot be denied.

"You know...on a scale of 1 to 10, it was a 10 in terms of damage to the governor," says Malone.

We wonder how Malone would rate Cuomo's "touchy feely" slideshow presentation.