02 Mar FROM THE DESK OF THE PUBLISHER: NEW YORK GOVERNOR CUOMO SHOULD RESIGN OR BE IMPEACHED

During Corona the governor was at the peak of his powers, a rising star in the Democratic Party and the most feared figure in the state of New York. Within a week, it all came crashing down. The allegations against Cuomo follow a scandal in which his administration was forced to revise its count of nursing home Coronavirus deaths after it was revealed they were severely undercounted. Cuomo’s decision to send hospitalized Covid-positive seniors back to their nursing homes and assisted-living facilities likely led to the deaths of thousands of people. More than 9,000 people who had tested positive for the Coronavirus were sent back to these facilities under Cuomo’s orders. Given what was known even in the early days of the pandemic about Covid-19’s transmissibility and the lethal threat it posed to the aged, this was a horrific decision. The state has said that more than 8,600 people died from the virus in nursing homes, many surely infected because of Cuomo’s order. New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a report last month that the true total is thousands higher. That alone should be grounds for his removal from office. This past Sunday, the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said President Joe Biden supported an independent review that “should move forward as quickly as possible.” Cuomo’s difficulties were further compounded this past Monday night when a third woman went public claiming that he had made her deeply uncomfortable during an encounter at a 2019 wedding reception.

BOTTOMLINE: Cuomo ruled by fear; other elected officials were afraid of his wrath, because he had the power and high approval ratings to crush them in any public fight.

Unlike the federal constitution, impeachment does not require finding a person has committed “high crimes or misdemeanors.” The last governor to be impeached, William Sulzer, was removed in 1913 for statements and acts he allegedly made more than 20 years before he was elected. If a governor can be removed on trumped-up charges levied for political reasons, surely Cuomo can be impeached for his deadly decisions and potential political prevarications. Lastly, as Jewish people we will never forget how Cuomo ordered that public and private schools be temporarily closed in parts of New York City that have large Orthodox Jewish populations. We will never forget the blatant antisemitism our governor expressed.

RESIGN, Mr. Governor, RESIGN. Pack up your bags. Leave us. We don’t need you. You are a disgrace to your father. You are a disgrace to the party. You are a disgrace to the state of New York. And you are a disgrace to the country.