BUFFALO, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo asked people to wait for the attorney general's report before forming an opinion about the sexual harassment allegations made against him. So, with the governor saying he won't resign, we're looking ahead to the attorney general's report and how that will play out.
While we don't know what the outcome of the report will be yet obviously, we do know a bit about how the logistics of the investigation will work.
Right now, New York State Attorney General Letitia James is doing an independent review. Monday, James received a referral letter to investigate allegations of sexual harassment made against Cuomo. That means the executive chamber sent her a letter granting her request to do the investigation. That gives her office the authority to do the investigation and choose an independent law firm to do that. James said in a statement that at the end of the review, the findings will be made public.
Sunday, the A.G. called for that referral from Cuomo to be able to investigate the allegations saying in-part, "There must be a truly independent investigation to thoroughly review these troubling allegations against the governor."
So, the next step is for James to choose the law firm so it can start the investigation. 2 On Your Side's legal analysts have said they expect that to happen within two weeks.
Governor Cuomo has said multiple times that he will fully cooperate with the A.G.'s review.
We also found out that the governor's emergency powers will continue past April 30, to the end of the federal pandemic whenever that is. There's an agreement on a bill where the legislature will have the power to repeal any Executive Order and the governor has to give the legislature five days notice before any policy changes go into effect, unless there's an emergency. The governor would also have to consult with the legislature on any changes he's making through an Executive Order during that five-day window.