Will Cuomo Try to Make a Comeback?

The decisions came astatine a dependable clip.

One by one, apical prosecutors successful Nassau, Westchester and Albany Counties had declared the intersexual harassment allegations against erstwhile Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York to beryllium “deeply troubling,” “credible” and serious.

And then, 1 by one, they concluded that they would not prosecute him for a crime.

The flurry of ineligible enactment successful caller weeks is acceptable to culminate connected Friday, erstwhile Mr. Cuomo is expected to make a virtual tribunal appearance arsenic prosecutors successful Albany determination to driblet a transgression lawsuit involving allegations that helium groped a erstwhile adjutant successful the Executive Mansion.

Mr. Cuomo, who resigned successful disgrace, remains politically alienated and inactive faces national and authorities inquiries into different aspects of his behaviour arsenic governor, including implicit his book. But radical who person known him for years expect the infinitesimal to embolden him, adjacent arsenic galore successful his enactment person nary involvement successful opening different Cuomo chapter, oregon revisiting the past one.

“He volition spot it arsenic a triumph lap,” said Karen Hinton, a seasoned communications strategist who was a advisor to Mr. Cuomo erstwhile helium was national lodging secretary. Ms. Hinton has said helium touched her inappropriately astatine the time, which his squad denied. She expressed concerns astir the decisions against prosecution.

“​​I judge helium thinks that volition assistance propel him backmost to the governmental arena,” she said. “That’s the Andrew Cuomo I know.”

Mr. Cuomo has denied ever acting inappropriately with the women who person accused him of intersexual misconduct, saying they had misconstrued behavior connected his portion that mightiness person been retired of measurement with the times but was not meant to beryllium sexual, adjacent arsenic aggregate women came guardant with elaborate accounts.

His resignation successful August followed a devastating study by the authorities lawyer general, and was 1 of the astir stunning governmental collapses successful modern American history. Mr. Cuomo admitted nary superior wrongdoing, and said helium was stepping down to “let authorities get backmost to governing.”

The quality of dropped charges has not caused a wide reckoning implicit whether Mr. Cuomo should person held onto his office; indeed, galore adjacent observers of Mr. Cuomo accidental helium stayed connected arsenic politician until helium had nary different governmental recourse, and that his determination to measurement down was driven much by Albany realities than the imaginable of prosecution.

The State Assembly had begun an impeachment investigation, raising the likelihood of a drawn-out and embarrassing proceedings successful the State Senate, and weakening his leverage implicit a Legislature helium erstwhile ruled with an robust fist.

“The full contented was not going to beryllium determined by whether oregon not the actions were deemed criminal,” said Jay Jacobs, the president of the New York State Democratic Committee who was erstwhile a adjacent Cuomo ally. “They went against what we would see due behaviour for our highest elected authoritative successful the state. That’s wherefore I deliberation that yet helium made the close prime successful stepping down.”

Over the past fewer months, Mr. Cuomo has reached retired to friends and associates to dependable them retired astir the governmental landscape, and immoderate who person spoken with him came distant with the content that helium is funny successful uncovering a mode backmost to relevance successful nationalist life.

He was particularly focused connected however the Albany County territory attorney, David Soares, would proceed, according to radical who person been successful interaction with his camp, and apt sees the determination to driblet the lawsuit arsenic significant.

A spokesperson for Mr. Cuomo declined to comment.

A dearth of transgression charges alone, however, is hardly capable to pave a way to governmental redemption, according to interviews with New York governmental leaders and Democrats who were erstwhile seen arsenic his allies. Multiple entities that investigated him said they recovered his accusers to beryllium credible. But cases built connected allegations similar those against Mr. Cuomo are very hard to beryllium successful court.

“They thought the grounds was credible, they thought what the women said truly happened, what they said was it didn’t emergence to a level they thought they could prosecute beyond a tenable doubt,” said erstwhile Gov. David A. Paterson, a Democrat. “I don’t deliberation it helps reconstruct him.”

Mr. Jacobs has endorsed Mr. Cuomo’s successor, Gov. Kathy Hochul, who delivered her archetypal State of the State this week, and is seeking her archetypal afloat word arsenic politician this year. And arsenic New York authorities moves forward, with a caller politician of New York City and a acold healthier concern truthful acold betwixt the metropolis and Albany than nether the shared tenure of Mr. Cuomo and erstwhile Mayor Bill de Blasio, determination is simply a existent eagerness among galore officials to determination on.

The Downfall of Andrew Cuomo

“I’m a existent believer successful owed process; helium was entitled to that process. I don’t judge helium was afforded that process,” said State Senator Diane Savino, Democrat of Staten Island, who praised aspects of Mr. Cuomo’s record. But asked if she believed that helium should nary longer beryllium successful nationalist life, she replied, “Yes. For his sake, for his family’s sake, for everybody’s sake. It’s like, the amusement is over.”

Certainly, she allowed, immoderate voters whitethorn not consciousness that way. There are those who judge helium was “railroaded,” she said — “a batch much than radical think.”

A canvass from the Siena College Research Institute successful September recovered that New York Democrats believed Mr. Cuomo should person resigned, 55 percent to 35 percent. But adjacent arsenic helium struggled with his support ratings overall, Democrats inactive rated him much favorably than unfavorably successful September and October Siena polls.

“In American authorities we’ve seen, determination is ever the imaginable for redemption,” Mr. Jacobs said. “Redemption comes aft a tenable play of clip to enactment region betwixt the transgression and that re-emergence. So, I deliberation it’s going to instrumentality time, you know, we’re surely not determination yet, and we’ll person to see.”

It is unclear however overmuch Mr. Cuomo has spent connected ineligible fees, but erstwhile helium near bureau helium had an $18 cardinal warfare chest, and helium has continued to pass with donors and enactment officials done emails and letters. And successful his final code arsenic helium stepped down, helium made wide helium was hoping to rehabilitate his legacy.

More recently, helium received a reprieve erstwhile the Manhattan territory lawyer closed without bringing charges an probe into Mr. Cuomo’s handling of nursing location deaths toward the commencement of the pandemic, a lawyer for Mr. Cuomo who was briefed by prosecutors has said.

The lawyer general’s bureau besides said successful a caller missive that it could not enforce an bid by a authorities morals sheet to compel Mr. Cuomo to forfeit the proceeds of his pandemic memoir, estimated astatine $5.1 cardinal — mitigation of different imaginable threat.

“If nary territory lawyer volition clasp him accountable for what helium did to the women” oregon his actions astir nursing homes, Ms. Hinton said, “he could instrumentality that $18 cardinal and effort to recreate himself. It’s been done by different politicians. And it could yet assistance him. I don’t judge it will.”