Previously, US President Joe Biden, the Democratic chairman of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi and the majority leader of the Democrats in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, called on Cuomo to resign.
“It has become more than clear to me that the governor has lost the confidence of the democratic majority in the House of Representatives and that he can no longer stay in office,” said Democrat Carl Heastie on Tuesday after a meeting with his colleagues. “Once we have the necessary documents and evidence from the Attorney General, we will act quickly and complete our impeachment investigation as soon as possible.”
“I think he should resign,” Biden said in the White House on Tuesday of his New York party friend. It is very unusual for the US president to ask a legally elected governor to resign – especially if he belongs to the same party. However, Biden had already expressed himself very critical of the allegations against Cuomo in an interview in March. When asked whether Cuomo should resign if the investigation should confirm the allegations, Biden said at the time: “Yes.” Women need “a lot of courage” to make such allegations public, said Biden. They should therefore be taken very seriously and the allegations carefully investigated, Biden said at the time.
The full and independent investigation of the allegations against Cuomo by New York’s attorney general has been completed, said Pelosi. “In recognition of his love for New York and the respect he has for his office, I call on the governor to resign,” said Pelosi on Tuesday. She praised the women who had the courage to go public with their allegations against Cuomo.
Cuomo denies allegations
Previously, an investigation conducted by Attorney General Letitia James came to the conclusion that Cuomo allegedly molested several women. Among other things, there were unwanted touches, kisses, hugs and inappropriate comments, James said at a press conference on Tuesday. In addition, Cuomo created a “hostile working atmosphere” and a “climate of fear” for women. Cuomo further denies the allegations.
For the investigation, 179 witnesses were spoken to and around 7,400 pieces of evidence were viewed, according to the attorney general’s report. This resulted in “a very disturbing but clear picture”. Several women had previously accused Cuomo of sexual harassment; there were calls for resignation from their own Democratic Party
The 63-year-old Cuomo had apologized for possible “misinterpretations” of his behavior, but rejected all allegations and decidedly refused to resign on several occasions. New York Attorney General James opened an investigation. Cuomo, who in the meantime was considered a beacon of hope for the Democratic Party and had presented himself as an alternative to the then Republican President Donald Trump in the corona pandemic, had promised to work with the investigators.
“I want you to hear directly from me that I have never touched anyone inappropriately or approached someone inappropriately,” said Cuomo on Tuesday via video message. “It’s just not who I am or who I have ever been.” In the video message, Cuomo did not address a possible resignation, which party comrades had repeatedly called for.
This is exactly what Chuck Schumer demanded shortly afterwards: “The people in New York deserve better leadership,” Schumer explained with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Both represent the state of New York in the US Senate. The investigation against Cuomo was “thorough and professional” and had proven the allegations. “No politician is above the law,” it said. The senators are therefore still of the opinion that Cuomo must resign. His actions were “deeply disturbing, inappropriate and completely unacceptable,” said Schumer and Gillibrand.
