Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) slammed the New York and Georgia investigations into former President Trump as being part of a “cancer in our body politic,” arguing they are politically motivated.
Cuomo told John Catsimatidis, who hosts the talk radio show “The Cats Roundtable,” in an interview on WABC 770 that he expects Trump will be indicted in Manhattan next week. He said he “doesn’t understand” why Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) is “putting such an emphasis” on the case investigating a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Cuomo argued that the case should be over a possible misdemeanor, but also that it should be a federal case instead of a state one.
The case arose from a $130,000 payment that former Trump attorney Michael Cohen made to Daniels for her to remain silent about an alleged affair she had with Trump. Cohen said he made the payment at Trump’s direction and was reimbursed for it.
Cohen pleaded guilty to federal charges including one campaign finance violation stemming from the payment in 2018. But the Justice Department declined to prosecute Trump for the payment despite Cohen’s accusation.
Trump has acknowledged reimbursing Cohen but denied the affair occurred. He has said the reimbursement was unrelated to campaign funds.
Former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. began a local investigation into Trump over the payment before his term ended and Bragg took over.
Cuomo said a campaign finance violation case would be a federal case, but that type of case is necessary for it to be a felony instead of a misdemeanor. He said prosecutors bringing “partisan” cases confirms people’s “cynicism.”
“I don’t believe a Democratic prosecutor just happens to be attacking a Republican. I don’t believe a Republican prosecutor just happens to be attacking a Democrat. I think it’s all politics, and I think that’s what the people of this country are saying,” he said.
Cuomo said he does not believe that what he characterized as Bragg, New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) going after Trump is a coincidence. James is suing Trump and his three adult children over possible financial crimes from the Trump Organization following a multiyear investigation, while Willis is investigating Trump’s alleged attempts to interfere with the election in Georgia in 2020.
“And I think it’s feeds the cynicism, and that’s the cancer in our body politic right now,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo resigned from office in 2021 after an investigation led by James found he sexually harassed 11 women. Another investigation also found Cuomo’s administration intentionally undercounted the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50 percent.
Cuomo has denied the allegations that he sexually harassed anyone. Five district attorneys in the state also declined to file charges against Cuomo over the allegations, saying that they did not reach enough of a legal basis to prosecute.
Investigators also chose not to file any charges against Cuomo for the nursing home situation.
A Cuomo spokesperson told The Hill in a statement that James’s report was a “sham” and noted that prosecutors did not move forward with any case from either investigation.
“There’s never been a there there but there was unfortunately plenty of politics,” they said.
— Updated at 10:54 a.m.