New York Assembly speaker: Cuomo impeachment probe to be suspended
13 August 2021
New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie announced Friday the chamber will suspend its impeachment investigation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo following his decision to resign effective Aug. 25.
Why it matters: Cuomo decided to step down after the state attorney general released an independent report that found the governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women.
The big picture: Heastie said in a statement Friday that the probe was meant to determine whether the governor should remain in office and his resignation answers that directive.
"Let me be clear – the committee's work over the last several months, although not complete, did uncover credible evidence in relation to allegations that have been made in reference to the governor," Heastie said in a statement.
- "As I've said, this has been a tragic chapter in our state's history," the speaker added. "The people of this great state expect and deserve a government they can count on to always have their best interests in mind."
What to watch: Heastie said he asked Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Lavine to provide "all the evidence the committee has gathered" to relevant investigatory authorities.
- Cuomo faces open investigations for his multi-million-dollar book deal. The state attorney general is also reviewing the governor's response to COVID-related nursing home deaths data, per AP.
- Heastie also cited "active investigations" by county district attorneys in Manhattan, Albany, Westchester, Nassau and Oswego regarding incidents of Cuomo's alleged sexual harassment.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.