ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo remained steadfast in his refusal to step down Friday as some of the most prominent members of his own party called on him to resign amid mounting accusations of sexual harassment.
The governor blamed “cancel culture” for his woes and dug in his heels as New York's U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand joined a majority of the state’s House Democrats in voicing concerns about his ability to lead.
“Due to the multiple, credible sexual harassment and misconduct allegations, it is clear that Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and the people of New York,” Schumer and Gillibrand said in a joint statement. “Governor Cuomo should resign.”
The stunning call came after a chorus rose up on Capitol Hill led by longtime U.S. Reps. Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney of Manhattan, who chair the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees respectively.
Young left-wing lawmakers, including U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones, also called for Cuomo’s ouster.
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli labeled allegations against the governor “extremely disturbing” and said they are “impairing Governor Cuomo’s ability to lead, as our state struggles through a crisis and must make critical budget decisions.”
“It is time for him to step down,” he added.
A defiant Cuomo called the waterfall of calls “reckless and dangerous” during an afternoon call with reporters.
“I’m not going to resign,” he said, after briefly discussing the state’s latest COVID-19 numbers. “People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture and the truth.”
The embattled three-term governor, who has worked in politics his entire adult life and whose father also occupied the Executive Mansion, attempted to paint himself as a political outsider being targeted by critics and cryptically insinuated that his accusers may have ulterior motives.
“Part of this is I’m not part of the political club, and you know what? I’m proud of it,” the 63-year-old said.
Six women, a majority of whom worked for the governor, have accused Cuomo of sexual harassment or making unwanted advances, including a current staffer who says the governor reached under her blouse and aggressively groped her at the Executive Mansion late last year.
The woman has not filed a criminal complaint, but a lawyer for the governor, as required by state law, reported the allegation to the Albany Police Department.
The scandal has spiraled and engulfed the governor since former adviser Lindsey Boylan alleged in an online essay last month that Cuomo kissed her on the lips against her will in 2018 after a meeting in his Manhattan office.
Cuomo, photographed outside the Executive Mansion with one of his daughters and talking on the phone with a shawl draped across his shoulders late Friday, continued to insist he has done nothing wrong.
“Women have a right to come forward and be heard and I encourage that fully,” the governor said. “There is still the question of the truth. I did not do what has been alleged, period. I won’t speculate about people’s possible motives.”
But, he added, “there are often many motivations for making an allegation.”
“A lot of people allege a lot of things for a lot of reasons,” Cuomo said.
He declined to answer a direct question from a reporter about whether he’s had a consensual romantic relationship with any of the women.
“I have not had a sexual relationship that was inappropriate, period,” he said.
Cuomo’s defiant refusal to step down came a day after Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, announced an ”impeachment investigation” into his conduct.
Attorney General Letitia James’ office is already overseeing an independent review of the allegations. That probe is being led by former federal prosecutor Joon Kim and employment discrimination attorney Anne Clark.
Cuomo, his administration already embroiled in controversy amid questions about nursing home coronavirus deaths, which has led to a federal probe and accusations of a cover-up, urged New Yorkers to reserve judgment while the dueling reviews play out.
However, allies and critics alike appear to have run out of patience with the powerful politician as multiple reports detail a chaotic and toxic workplace under his leadership that belittled women.
Nadler, who has been in Congress since Cuomo was in his 30s, said he took particular issue with the governor’s insistence that he did nothing wrong.
“The repeated accusations against the governor, and the manner in which he has responded to them, have made it impossible for him to continue to govern at this point,” the congressman said. “Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of the people of New York. Governor Cuomo must resign.”
Ocasio-Cortez, a highly influential member of the Democratic Party’s growing progressive wing, said it was more than just the sexual misconduct claims that led her to call for the governor’s resignation, citing a January report from James’ office that accused the administration of underreporting nursing home deaths during the pandemic.
“Governor Cuomo can no longer effectively lead in the face of so many challenges,” she said in a joint statement with Bowman.
In the Legislature, a group of moderate Senate Democrats representing Long Island issued their own statement Friday calling on Cuomo to allow Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul to take over while the AG review plays out and budget negotiations get underway.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, called on Cuomo to resign last weekend while Republicans and a small number of Democrats rallied for impeachment.
Mayor Bill de Blasio, in his most blunt assessment of the situation yet, said Friday the governor “should do the right thing and recognize that he just can’t do the job any longer.”
“He has lost the faith of his fellow leaders around the state, and I think he’s increasingly losing the faith of the people,” the mayor said at a press conference. “He should do something that is decent, after these many indecent revelations. He should simply resign.”
———
