If the report is as flawed and political as Mr. Cuomo insists, he should have sought to prove that in an impeachment trial. This is one reason we argued against Al Franken’s resignation from the U.S. Senate.

Mr. Cuomo’s resignation lets New York politicians avoid an impeachment vote. Removing an elected Governor based on what he claims are “untruthful” accusations is a serious matter, and the impeachment process gives voters, through their representatives, an opportunity to adjudicate. There’s a cost to democratic institutions when evicting the Governor becomes an intra-party inside game based on disputed facts and the shifting judgments of power-brokers.

Mr. Cuomo’s successor, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, is a Democrat from upstate with a moderate history. Yet as the Biden Administration has demonstrated, past moderation is no guarantee of future moderation in today’s Democratic Party. The hard left that dominates New York City covets control in Albany, and Mr. Cuomo’s resignation provides an opening.