(Bloomberg) -- As Andrew Cuomo digs in and refuses to resign, the future of New York’s embattled governor now is squarely in the hands of state lawmakers who must decide if and how they want to force him out.

In addition to multiple sexual-harassment allegations, the Assembly Judiciary Committee has been investigating whether the Cuomo administration covered up Covid-19 nursing-home deaths, provided relatives with virus testing before it was widely available, mishandled construction of the Mario Cuomo Bridge and misused public resources for a $5 million leadership book.

Lawmakers will meet on Monday to weigh if they will continue reviewing all those allegations or proceed faster toward possible impeachment just on the harassment accusations after state Attorney General Letitia James ended a separate investigation that lodged 11 harassment claims against Cuomo.

The governor remains isolated, resisting pressure to resign from his closest allies and the nation’s highest leaders. Lawyers for the three-term Democrat say he has no plans to step down and that he felt “ambushed” by James’s report.

On Sunday, the governor’s highest-ranking aide, Melissa DeRosa, resigned. She called the last two years working for Cuomo “emotionally and mentally trying,” in a statement provided to Bloomberg News.

Also over the weekend, a former Cuomo aide who filed a criminal complaint accusing the governor of grabbing her breast at the Executive Mansion spoke publicly for the first time. In a television interview with CBS News, she said Cuomo broke the law and had to be “held accountable.”

Cuomo faces possible criminal charges and civil lawsuits, but only impeachment can oust him before he is up for re-election in 2022. And the state Assembly is the body charged with starting the process.

The Assembly Judiciary Committee’s actions will set precedent for a process that hasn’t been undertaken in more than a century, said committee member Latrice Walker, an Assemblywoman representing parts of Brooklyn. The last -- and only -- New York governor to be impeached was in 1913.

“This is the stuff lawbooks are made of,” said Walker, a Democrat. “I want to ensure that this is done right.”

Cuomo, with a cadre of top lawyers including former U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman, is known for being ruthless, so lawmakers say that any case against him has to be airtight.

Some committee members say James’s report alone is enough to impeach Cuomo.

“This information clearly shows that the governor is unfit for office,” Republican committee member Keith Brown said in an Aug. 3 statement. “If he doesn’t resign immediately, we must move forward with his impeachment immediately.“

Assemblyman Charles Lavine, the Judiciary Committee chair, said on Aug. 5 that the investigation was nearing completion. Cuomo’s attorney has until Aug. 13 to turn over any evidence or other materials to the panel and his office has said he will cooperate.

Davis Polk & Wardwell, the law firm representing the committee, has said it collected more than 100,000 pages of documents, including emails, texts, and photographs that could become part of an impeachment proceeding. James’s office is forwarding additional evidence for the harassment portion of the probe.

Ambush Claim

Cuomo’s personal attorney, Rita Glavin, criticized the attorney general’s investigation, saying it ignored some evidence. She called on James to release interview transcripts, saying she doesn’t have access to evidence vital to an impeachment trial.

“There has been no open-minded fact-finding here in this case,” she said at a Friday briefing. “This was one-sided.”

New York’s Democratic-controlled legislature already had a contentious relationship with Cuomo. In April 2020, lawmakers gave Cuomo broad emergency powers to fight the pandemic. The governor asserted control over schools, businesses and social gatherings, ordering lockdowns that helped control the spread of the coronavirus, and won him a soaring approval rating.

A year later, after Cuomo faced probes over sexual harassment claims and his administration’s handling of Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes, lawmakers repealed those emergency powers. Even without them, he remains a formidable force. The son of three-term former Governor Mario Cuomo, he has been part of New York politics for decades. He has led the state since 2011, faces no term limits, has amassed an $18.5 million campaign war chest and retains broad authority over local governments, including New York City, the nation’s financial center.

Impeachment proceedings could help determine the limits of the governor’s power, said Assemblyman Phil Steck, a Democrat on the Judiciary committee.

New York’s governorship is “the most powerful in the nation,” said Steck. The legislature has to “set rules on what is considered an abuse of power by the governor,” he said.

If the committee moves forward on articles of impeachment, the question of impeaching Cuomo would go to the full Assembly.

Cuomo, 63, would be required to temporarily step down if those lawmakers vote to impeach, making Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul the acting governor.

The state Senate would then have 30 to 60 days to start an impeachment trial. A conviction -- and removal from office -- would require approval by two-thirds of senators and judges voting.

“We need to make sure the product of our investigation, if we go that route, gives us the tools necessary to be successful in that endeavor,” said committee member Kenneth Zebrowski, a Democrat.

Even with the additional topics, committee members said they expect the investigation to wrap up by early September.

“It’s important that we somehow strike a balance between thoroughness and comprehensiveness and also speed,” said Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, a Republican.

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