Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) said Monday there is “no way” he will resign in the wake of allegations of sexual harassment, despite calls for him to step down.
His statement comes after he cited an independent investigation by Attorney General Letitia James’s office that Cuomo’s office has signed off on, the Hill reported:
“[James] is very good, she’s very competent, and that will be due process and then we’ll have the facts. That’s why Senator [Chuck] Schumer said let the Attorney General do her investigation, Senator [Kirsten] Gillibrand said let the Attorney General do her investigation, Congressman [Hakeem] Jeffries said let the Attorney General do her investigation, the White House spokesperson said let the Attorney General do the investigation, because that’s democracy. So no, there is no way I resign,” Cuomo said in a press briefing Monday.
On Sunday, New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins called for Cuomo to resign following multiple sexual harassment allegations against him, Breitbart News reported.
“We have allegations about sexual harassment, a toxic work environment, the loss of credibility surrounding the Covid-19 nursing home data and questions about the construction of a major infrastructure project,” she said in a statement.
“New York is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing the societal, health and economic impacts of it,” Stewart-Cousins added. “We need to govern without daily distraction. For the good of the state Gov. Cuomo must resign.”
Meanwhile, the Times Union recently became the second editorial board to call for the governor’s resignation after the news of the nursing home deaths coverup and the sexual harassment allegations.
In an op-ed titled “Resign, Mr. Cuomo,” the editorial board wrote, “Enough. Mr. Cuomo has squandered the public’s trust at a time when it’s needed more than ever.”
“Amid an enduring pandemic, it is vital that people can believe what their governor and their government are telling them, and that the rules they’re asked to follow and the sacrifices they’re asked to make are truly in the interest of public health,” the piece read.
“It is time for Mr. Cuomo to resign, and for those who helped him deceive the public to go, too,” it concluded.