What to Know About the Bid to Impeach New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a one-time star of the Democratic Party, faces possible impeachment after state Attorney General Letitia James substantiated allegations that he sexually harassed 11 women, including several members of his office staff. The 63-year-old third-term governor is embroiled in other state and federal investigations as well. Since Cuomo insists he won’t resign, all eyes are on the state’s bicameral legislature, which has an impeachment procedure that hasn’t been put to the test in more than a century.

Actually, it’s already begun. The Judiciary Committee of the state Assembly, the legislature’s lower house, began a fact-finding inquiry in March to decide whether to begin impeachment proceedings against Cuomo over the sexual-harassment allegations. That committee will now review documents and evidence from the attorney general’s investigation and “move expeditiously” to conclude its probe, according to the Assembly’s speaker, Carl Heastie, a Democrat. Two committee members, Assemblymen Phil Steck and David Weprin, expect the panel to wrap everything up by the beginning of September.