This week the disgraced New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his plan for resignation. But in an unprecedented move, he gave a two weeks’ notice to tie up some loose ends before he has to hit the bricks.
Stalling the inevitable only irritated some of his former colleagues who questioned the motives behind Cuomo’s decision.
“I was a little taken aback that he said his resignation is effective in 14 days, and it may be overly cynical but I believe that Andrew Cuomo was a person of mischief,” former Southern District of New York U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said on his podcast.
Bharara said he trusts that Cuomo will leave office, but said that two weeks “is a long time” and that Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul has been getting ready to take over.
“And I hope there’s nothing nefarious about the 14 days,” he continued, “but it strikes me as too long a period. You don’t have to give two weeks notice to resign as governor.”
New York State Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay commented on the long delay during an interview on FOX Business’ “Mornings with Maria.”
“I have a little bit of a problem with it, whether we can do anything about it I think that’s tough,” Barclay said. He claimed that it is “a real concern” that Cuomo could try to tamper with evidence, and posited that Cuomo may be staying for two more weeks so that he could continue to receive defense counsel that is paid for by taxpayers instead of out of his own pocket.
According to Cuomo adviser Rich Azzopardi, the governor is staying on to help with a transition to Hochul during a difficult time.
“It’s to ensure an orderly transition at this critical time where the key decisions still remain on COVID, the Delta variant and other significant challenges facing the state,” Azzopardi said.
Another, more simple reason why Cuomo won’t pack up his stuff and get out is that he may not have anywhere else to go. Reports from the New York Post say Cuomo does not possess any property and his last home was sold by his ex-wife.
