Andrew Cuomo once reportedly made an 'impeachable' call to the Obama White House to complain about a federal prosecutor


Hours before New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's (D) resignation over sexual harassment allegations, The New Yorker on Tuesday shared a completely separate instance of alleged Cuomo misconduct — this time relating back to the Obama White House and a reportedly impeachment-worthy phone call.
In 2014, following his shutdown of a probe intended to investigate corruption in New York State politics, Cuomo called the White House "ranting and raving" about then-U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara, reports The New Yorker.
"This guy's out of control," Cuomo reportedly told Senior Adviser to President Barack Obama Valerie Jarrett. "He's your guy." The governor was apparently upset that Bharara had requested the probe's commissioners preserve documents, and also asked investigators to interview key witnesses. But such a call was "highly inappropriate and potentially illegal," said Jennifer Rodgers, a former prosecutor in Bharara's office and adjunct professor at NYU Law School, and may have violated state ethics rules, writes The New Yorker.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"If he, in fact, called a U.S. Attorney's bosses and implied, 'Stop this guy from looking into me,' that could easily amount to an impeachable offense," added Jessica Levinson, director of Loyola Law School's Public Service Institute.
For her part, Jarrett said she "shut down the conversation" with Cuomo as soon as she realized what he was talking about, and reported the call to White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler, who then shared the incident with Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole. "He shouldn't have been doing that. He's trying to exert political pressure on basically a prosecution or an investigation," said Cole.
Bharara, who was notified by the Department of Justice, said he remembers feeling alarmed by Cuomo's actions. "Trump did that. That's an extraordinary thing, from my perspective."
In any event, Cuomo is now out the door. Read more at The New Yorker.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Some mainstream Democrats struggle with Zohran Mamdani's surprise win
TALKING POINT To embrace or not embrace? A party in transition grapples with a rising star ready to buck political norms and energize a new generation.
-
How to make music part of your vacation
Let the rhythm move you
-
What is credit card churning and why is it risky?
the explainer Churners frequently open new credit cards with the intent of earning a welcome bonus and accessing other perks
-
Some mainstream Democrats struggle with Zohran Mamdani's surprise win
TALKING POINT To embrace or not embrace? A party in transition grapples with a rising star ready to buck political norms and energize a new generation.
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump
-
Trump embraces NATO after budget vow, charm offensive
Speed Read The president reversed course on his longstanding skepticism of the trans-Atlantic military alliance
-
Trump judge pick told DOJ to defy courts, lawyer says
Speed Read Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat, stands accused of encouraging government lawyers to mislead the courts and defy judicial orders
-
Mamdani upsets Cuomo in NYC mayoral primary
Speed Read Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani beat out Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary