Former New York Governor David Paterson says a potential impeachment and further investigations would likely be waiting for former Governor Andrew Cuomo should he choose to run again in 2022.
Cuomo resigned last month amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment.
“In the case of the former governor, one problem he would have if he ran is that some of the investigations about him aren’t over yet,” Paterson told “The Cats Roundtable” host John Catsimatidis Sunday.
“Investigations tend to lose their strength when a person resigns. That kind of resolves the issue, that happened with Richard Nixon, he was pardoned by President Ford. That would happen with Governor Cuomo, but if he starts running again, become the candidate and the potential governor, they might have the impeachment sitting there waiting for him, should he win and get into office.”
Regarding current governor Kathy Hochul, Paterson praised her fiscal restraint, saying that “she did one really good thing. There’s an $11.5 billion debt in the [state] unemployment insurance fund. She did not allow any of the payment checks to be issued when the federal government stopped [paying the state] on September 1st because we are in debt. It is welcoming to see a governor, who, when she sees debt, it means you’ve got to stop spending and start producing. Her real agenda right now is to try to raise revenues, because she’s not going to get any money from Washington. She can’t tax the rich again. … She is going to have to grapple with… at least a $9 billion to $11 billion budget deficit.”
When Catsimatidis asked Paterson if Tisch James, the state’s current Attorney General and a Democrat, wants to be governor, Paterson responded: “If I were Tisch James, who is the same age as Kathy Hochul… if she sits back, she could be waiting eight years while Governor Hochul is there. So, the time to move would be now.”
