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.
