Old and busted: Did Andrew Cuomo really resign? New hotness: Did Melissa DeRosa really resign? Two weeks ago, DeRosa supposedly quit, under fire from Cuomo’s victims and Attorney General Letitia James for attacks on the women who came forward and those who corroborated their statements.

And yet here’s DeRosa today, alerting the media of Cuomo’s valediction today at noon ET:

Gov Cuomo to deliver farewell address to New Yorkers at noon today

Watch here: https://t.co/Tg5Zpv4bLD

— Melissa DeRosa (@melissadderosa) August 23, 2021

At least as of 10:30 ET this morning, DeRosa’s Twitter profile doesn’t show any hint that she departed her job, or even that she planned on doing so:

Nothing in this profiles indicates any departure or intended departure. Indeed, DeRosa appears to be well on the job two weeks after announcing that she would leave Cuomo’s office. She’s still flacking even to the last moment:

NEW: Statement from ⁦@melissadderosa⁩ on ⁦@NYGovCuomo⁩’s future: he does NOT plan on running again⬇️ pic.twitter.com/nmahflvnTp

— Zack Fink (@ZackFinkNews) August 23, 2021

That’s good, because most New Yorkers don’t plan on ever voting for him again too.

That’s hardly the strangest development today. What will Cuomo say as a valediction after resigning in disgrace? Will he blame his Italian heritage again for his gropiness, or instead try to convince New Yorkers that they will miss him when he’s gone? Cuomo had all the opportunity he needed for that in his resignation announcement, and then some, two weeks ago.

This demonstrates an insane level of denial on Cuomo’s part. In one sense, he’s getting off easy by resigning ahead of an all-but-certain impeachment, and possibly a criminal charge relating to sexual assault. In an earlier era, Cuomo would have left office immediately and put his head down for a couple of years. Instead, he’s been ramping up clemency and executive actions as though he’s transitioning to a presidential campaign rather than a political exile in disgrace. (Jeff Dunetz hilariously calls this Cuomo’s “swearing out ceremony.”)

Maybe Cuomo will discuss his dog-sitting arrangements today. The Albany Times-Union reports today that Cuomo abandoned his dog Captain, a not particularly beloved member of the official household, although Cuomo’s office hotly denies it:

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who has been staying with one of his sisters in Westchester County in the final days of his third term, recently has asked staff members at the Executive Mansion if anyone would like to keep his dog, Captain, who has remained at the state-owned residence after the governor moved out last week.

Two State Police sources told the Times Union on Saturday that the governor had recently asked mansion staff members if anyone would be interested in caring for the dog. Captain — a high-strung mix of shepherd, Siberian and malamute — has nipped a few people since Cuomo adopted him in 2018, the sources said, and a mansion staffer recently took the dog home for a few days but decided he was too much. …

In an earlier conversation, Azzopardi had said: “He wants to go on vacation. They love that dog. … That’s not what he asked: He didn’t ask to give away the dog. … This nameless source is crazy. … I can’t believe this is what I’m dealing with right now, when I’m dealing with a major storm.”

But a State Police source said they were told “he tried giving the dog to the (a mansion employee). … Apparently (the employee) took the dog home and it didn’t work — the dog walks him, he don’t walk the dog.”

The source, in an interview on Saturday, also said the dog had nipped at “several State Police members” as well as staff members, “and the governor would just laugh. … The dog remains at the mansion.”

If Cuomo left the dog behind, at least it’s a good indication that he plans to exit. It’s not beyond imagining that Cuomo could use the media platform today to rescind his resignation and dare the state legislature to impeach and remove him from office. The odds on that are pretty low at this point, but are they non-zero? Tune in and find out … or the dog gets it.

The live embed is below, or one can find it on the ny.gov website.

Update: This is an even lamer idea than it first appeared. Emphasis mine:

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York’s farewell address will air at noon on Monday, his last day in office after a decade-long tenure which came to an abrupt end following multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

Mr. Cuomo’s final address, which was prerecorded, comes nearly two weeks after he announced his resignation after a New York State attorney general report found he sexually harassed 11 women, including government employees.

If it was prerecorded, why do an event on the website for a particular time? Why not just post the video and let everyone know it’s there?

Update: I don’t agree that this is the “most a**hole thing” Cuomo has ever done, but it probably makes the top ten:

While Richard Azzopardi, a spokesman for the governor, has denied the allegation, saying, “Someone offered to watch him for a few days while the transition was ongoing,” dog lovers on Twitter were horrified by the report.

Mediaite has a collection of Twitter responses curated at the link. I get the anger over this, but I’m a people lover as well as a dog lover, and I’m just a bit more miffed at the thousands of seniors who died as a result of Cuomo’s nursing-home policy and its cover-up. YMMV.