Governor Mario Cuomo Is Not Going to Get Due Process and the Presumption of Innocence

Does Governor Andrew Cuomo Get Due Process and the Presumption of Innocence? Not if he’s impeached and voted out of office by the New York Legislature! Senator Al Franken of Minnesota didn’t receive due process. Representative Katie Hill of California didn’t receive due process. No presumption of innocence for them. This battle is political battle – not judicial in a court of law. The Congressional Democrats weren’t giving President Trump due process in their bogus impeachments. The Republicans remember. Cuomo, Newsom in California, Brown in Oregon, Pritzker in Chicago reflect the weakness of one-party government. The Governor’s party has turned on him. Governor Cuomo’s problem is quadruple. First, he’s a bully. Second, he has few friends. His staff turned on him eons ago. Three, he’s no longer glorified by the media as the anti-Trump; the media doesn’t need him anymore. Fourth, the nursing home fatalities are on him. Janice Dean of Fox News is on a Jihad against him for killing her father-in-law and mother-in-law. He never learnt one of the fundamental rules of life: “Be nice to those you pass on the way up; you may see them again on the way down.” The Governor issued a slide show – a compilation of his greatest kisses or pinchings. He said as a defense: “I do it with everyone. Black and White, young and old, straight and LGBTQ, powerful people, friends, strangers, people who I meet on the street.” How can it be discrimination or harassment if he treats everyone equally? Not a great defense! He called his conduct “old-fashioned.” Not a winning argument! He’s just an expressive Italian. It’s still harassment! He responded to the charge that he grabbed a woman's breast at the Governor's Mansion: "I would have to lose my mind to do such a thing" to a woman he barely knew in front of his staff. What did his staff say? How about these defenses? 1) President Clinton got away with rape; 2) President Biden has a touchy-feelie history; 3) What about President Trump? 4) Let’s not forget Governor Schwarzenegger; 5) What about Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh? 6) If President Biden wants him to resign, as do Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the entire New York Delegation, he can’t be that bad; 7) Would you prefer Andrew Cuomo or New York Mayor Bill de Blasio as governor? Mayor de Blagio has demanded the Governor’s resignation. Of course he has. The two are like putting two scorpions in a bottle and see who comes out alive. The Governor has triumphed on most issues because the governor has more power than the mayor, but this time Mayor de Blasio smells blood. He says the Governor “is past the point of no return.” The four governors of Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island signed a joint letter claiming to be “appalled” by his conduct. Remember the classic line from Casablanca: “I’m shocked, shocked, to find that gambling is going on in here.” We have the Lieutenant Governor, the governor in waiting, Kathleen C. Hochul stating she believes the accusers. She called the Governor’s conduct “repulsive and unlawful.” She's measuring the drapes in the Governor's office. Governor Cuomo will try to wait it out and then run for reelection. That depends on the New York Assembly and Senate. That really depends on the New York Senate. Majority vote in the Assembly to impeach; 2/3 vote in the Senate to convict. The Governor at this point passes bipartisan (an often overused word) opposition. House Speaker Carl Hastie met with the Democratic caucus earlier today. He said Governor Cuomo “lost the confidence of the Assembly Democratic majority and that he can no longer remain in office.” Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins called for his resignation “for the good of the state.” Senate Minority Leader Robert G. Ortl echoed her remarks. 165 pages establishing harassment, improper behavior, groping, a climate of fear, and retaliation. What about CNN and Chris Cuomo?