New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced mounting pressure Tuesday to resign, including from President Joe Biden, after an investigation found he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women and worked to retaliate against one of his accusers.
“It is abundantly clear to me that the Governor has lost the confidence of the Assembly Democratic majority and that he can no longer remain in office,” Heastie said. “Once we receive all relevant documents and evidence from the Attorney General, we will move expeditiously and look to conclude our impeachment investigation as quickly as possible.”
The pressure for Cuomo to resign came after Attorney General Letitia James released the findings of an independent investigation. She said victims included current and former employees, and that Cuomo tried to retaliate against at least one woman who came forward.
James said the results have no criminal consequences are entirely civil in nature, but they are fueling renewed calls for Cuomo’s impeachment or resignation.
Cuomo said he was hiring an expert to reform sexual harassment training for state employees, including himself.
In his taped response, Cuomo apologized to two accusers: Bennett, who said the governor asked if she was open to sex with an older man after she confided in him that she had been a victim of sexual assault, and a woman he kissed at a wedding.
Still, Cuomo equivocated and lashed out at the investigative process, saying it was rife with “politics and bias.” He explained that he’s been physically embracing people his whole life, that his mother and father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, had done the same and that the gesture was meant to “convey warmth.”
Cuomo’s lawyer issued a written rebuttal to the investigation’s findings, arguing in most cases that serious allegations, like the alleged groping, didn’t happen, or that his actions were misconstrued.
“For those who are using this moment to score political points or seek publicity or personal gain. I say they actually discredit the legitimate sexual harassment victims that the law was designed to protect,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo faced multiple allegations last winter that he inappropriately touched and sexually harassed women who worked with him or who he met at public events. One aide in his office said he groped her breast.
Another, Lindsey Boylan, said Cuomo kissed her on the lips after a meeting in his office and “would go out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs.”
After Boylan first made her allegations public in December, the Cuomo administration undercut her story by releasing personnel memos to media outlets revealing that Boylan resigned after she was confronted about complaints she belittled and yelled at her staff.
Boylan has said those records “were leaked to the media in an effort to smear me.”
Last winter, there was a chorus of calls for Cuomo’s resignation from many top elected Democrats in New York, including two U.S. senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. But Cuomo refused to quit and has been raising money for a fourth term in office.
His position on the allegations has also hardened into one of defiance. Cuomo has always denied touching anyone inappropriately, but he initially said he was sorry if his behavior with women was “misinterpreted as unwanted flirtation.”
