After weeks of unsuccessfully seeking the impeachment of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo amid an avalanche of scandal accusations, New York State Republicans are now training their sights on his second-in-command – Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul.
And it appears that state GOP Chairman Nicholas A. Langworthy believes he has crafted a winning argument as he demands she either detail her insider role, or acknowledge herself as a ceremonial functionary.
Langworthy told reporters in downtown Buffalo on Wednesday that it is time for Hochul to recount her knowledge of the administration's response to several allegations of sexual harassment, as well as of hiding data of nursing home deaths stemming from Covid-19.
"There is nothing stopping her from answering these questions," he said, posing a series of "what did she know and when did she know it?" queries.
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The chairman asked if the lieutenant governor was aware of the allegations, if she was aware of any sexual harassment by Cuomo, if she ever even privately objected to the governor's decision to send Covid-19 patients into nursing homes that he said caused 15,000 deaths, or the decision to withhold nursing home data from the Legislature.
"I believe she, like the governor, has an absolute obligation to be forthright and answer these questions," he said.
"Andrew Cuomo's victims are not silent. They grow louder by the day," he added. "Kathy Hochul's silence, however, is deafening."
Langworthy on Wednesday labeled Hochul – Cuomo's running mate through two elections – part of a "cadre of enablers" that have allowed the governor to avoid resignation or even impeachment after six women have claimed the governor sexually harassed them. Cuomo has also been dogged by allegations that his administration hid data concerning Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes and that it oversaw faulty construction methods on the new Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River.
New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul mingles before the start of a ribbon-cutting event at the AP Lofts at Larkinville in April 2019.
Now, Langworthy is demanding that Hochul reveal her knowledge of, and responses to, the incidents. If she doesn't, then he insists she is not only "directly complicit in this corrupt administration," she demonstrates her absence from the inner circles of Albany influence.
"She talks about how she's the governor's right hand and she's working directly with Andrew Cuomo to get so many great things done," he said. "Is she there as a good will ambassador or is she there as an actual government official?
"If you didn't know what was going on in the administration, what the hell were you doing?" he asked.
The lieutenant governor, a Buffalo resident who would become governor should Cuomo be forced out of office, has in recent days adopted a low profile as Cuomo comes under fire – especially for the increasing number of women who have accused him of inappropriate sexual attention. Like scores of other Democrats, Hochul has expressed her concern over the allegations while noting support for an investigation by state Attorney General Letitia James.
Should Cuomo be forced out, Langworthy's attacks – if successful – could make Hochul a politically-weak successor while already giving the GOP material for a fund-raising pitch.
The governor, meanwhile, has denied any overt actions to sexually harass women (some of them in his employ) and insists that federal guidelines early in the pandemic drove him to admit Covid-19 patients released from hospitals into nursing homes. He has admitted that more transparency was needed in reporting nursing home death data, and after some initial stumbling, has agreed to cooperate in a subsequent investigation under James' direction.
A spokesman for Hochul's office did not return a call Wednesday.
But Langworthy now says her current stance is not good enough.
"New Yorkers have a right to know what Kathy Hochul's involvement in all this has been," he said, adding that nothing should stop the lieutenant governor from answering questions and that she has a duty to come forward.
The state GOP later on Wednesday featured much of Langworthy's Buffalo remarks in a fundraising letter to supporters, headlined: "Lieutenant Governor Hochul is Complicit in Cuomo's Corruption."
