New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing widespread criticism from both sides of the political party as a new report alleged that the politician sexually harassed 11 women, including current and former state employees.
United States President Joe Biden and many others have called on Cuomo to resign from his position after the reveal of the accusations. The crimes were announced by state Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday and detailed in a 165-page report.
Sexual Harassment Allegations
Hours after the release of the documents, Biden echoed the calls of many lawmakers about Cuomo's position. Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie has also called out to the New York governor, who he said had no right to stay in office any longer. State lawmakers will quickly move forward with an ongoing impeachment investigation, Heastie said.
The report revealed that Cuomo allegedly conducted unwanted physical touching, with one such incident last November where the governor reportedly embraced an executive assistant and reached under her blouse to grab her breast, investigators said. Other witnesses also said Cuomo created an abusive and vindictive work environment where female staff who spoke out about his actions became targets of retaliation through the release of their personnel files, the Washington Post reported.
During a news conference at the White House, Biden said he thinks Cuomo should resign after the release of the investigative report. If the New York governor refuses the calls for resignation, Biden said he understands the state legislature may decide to impeach but is not sure of that possibility.
On Tuesday, Cuomo strongly denied some of the accusations while arguing other examples of his alleged misconduct were mischaracterized or misinterpreted. The report also noted that Cuomo's alleged victims were members of his own staff, members of the public, and other state employees, including one state trooper.
Four months before his statement, Biden said that if investigations confirmed Cuomo's sexual harassment crimes, the president believed the governor should step down. The Democratic president stood by his March statement on Tuesday, while adding he thinks Cuomo would be prosecuted as well, CNBC reported.
Moving Forward With The Investigation
White House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was among those who are urging Cuomo to resign after the reveal of his sexual crime allegations. The speaker's recent statements were a complete turnaround from her March comments on the then-allegations against the New York governor.
At least 55 out of the 63 members of the New York State Senate have also joined the calls for Cuomo's resignation. They said they would vote to remove the Democrat if he were to be impeached. Cuomo faces the threat of being removed from office if he was impeached by the New York State Assembly and the state senators voted him guilty.
New York Lieutenant Governor, Kathy Hochul, called the allegations against Cuomo "repulsive and unlawful behavior." She said that no one was above the law in the United States and that the Assembly was responsible for taking the next steps in Cuomo's case, CNN reported.
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