Appeal to Investigate New York State for Abandonment of Republican Form of Government

The Honorable Paul Ryan

Speaker of the House

H-232 The Capitol

Washington, DC 20515

Dear President Trump, Speaker Ryan, and Majority Leader McConnell:

I appeal to you to investigate whether New York State under Governor Andrew Cuomo has abandoned a republican form of government.  According to the Heritage Foundation,  the cases of Pacific States Telephone & Telegraph Co. v. Oregon (1912) and Baker v Carr (1962) have held that citizens may petition Congress to hold such an investigation under Article IV, Section 4 of the US Constitution. There is no reason that the president cannot hold an investigation as well.

The recent contretemps between Mr. Cuomo and the National Rifle Association is an example of such abandonment. (See Seth Lipsky's New York Post op-ed.)  The National Rifle Association alleges that that the Cuomo administration has pressured administrative agencies to harass it because it is his political opponent.

Such pressure may not be unique. Mr. Cuomo may be routinely involved in quid pro quo with respect to campaign contributions.  His quashing of the Preet Bharara investigation; the conviction of Sheldon Silver; the Kaloyeros case, which may well reach to Cuomo's office; and Mr. Cuomo's insistence that the state does not welcome conservatives, likely all whose political beliefs deviate from his, intimate a state that has abandoned the rule of law, a key element of republican government.  

Sincerely,

Mitchell Langbert, Ph.D.

mlangbert@hvc.rr.com