20 March 2022: Opinion - Impeach Andrew Cuomo - Now

Impeach Andrew Cuomo — now

The New York Daily News gave Ana Maria Archila, who is running to be New York's Lieutentant Governor, a platform. After going through a display of narcissistic vanity, she used it to demand the post-resignation impeachment of Andrew M. Cuomo, which we think would not be legal under New York's state constitution.

Here's a sample of what she had to say on the topic:

... [Cuomo's] attempt to return to public office without accepting responsibility or facing real accountability is offensive and grotesque, and he must be stopped.

The good news is that there’s a clear path to preventing his political return. The Assembly, which had begun the process of impeachment before he resigned, should now move immediately to impeach Cuomo. Once they have acted, the High Court of Impeachment, made up of all sitting senators save the majority leader, plus the members of the Court of Appeals, should then proceed with a trial. A Senate conviction could, and should, permanently bar Cuomo from holding statewide public office again.

While the process of impeachment after resignation has not been tested in New York before, and the ever-litigious Cuomo would likely challenge it, there is precedent in common law and practice that permits it. It is also just common sense; as many Americans understood after Donald Trump’s actions before, during and after Jan. 6, simply resigning should not absolve a public official of facing consequences for abuses of power. That would make avoiding accountability all too easy.

Legislators should therefore resume their proceedings to ensure real accountability for Cuomo’s abuses of power. Every action he takes further demonstrates his refusal to accept responsibility for the harm he’s caused. If lawmakers won’t do it, no one will.

Archila's position is clearly outside the mainstream thinking of the very left-leaning Democratic Party members who make up the majority in New York's Assembly and State Senate. With that being the case, we anticipate Archila will neither draw support for Andrew M .Cuomo's impeachment nor find electoral success in her campaign to be New York's next lieutenant governor.