Combative Cuomo resists calls for resignation amid allegations of sexual harassment
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo dug in his heels Sunday as he faces mounting calls to resign over sexual harassment claims and allegations of inappropriate behavior.
The governor lashed out at critics and said the “premise of resigning because of allegations is actually anti-democratic” after two more women came forward over the weekend.
“There is no way I resign,” Cuomo said during an afternoon call with reporters.
While a growing number of Republicans and Democrats have said the embattled governor should step down, Cuomo reiterated his request for New Yorkers to reserve judgement until the completion of Attorney General Letitia James’ independent investigation into the matter.
“The system is based on due process and the credibility of the allegation,” he said. “Let the attorney general do her job … and that will be due process and then we’ll have the facts.”
In 2018, Cuomo himself called for then-AG Eric Schneiderman to resign after news reports that the disgraced pol abused several women.
“There is politics in politics,” the governor said in response to members of his own party saying he should step down. “They don’t get to hear an allegation and make a determination on the allegation.”
Cuomo said he doesn’t want to be distracted by the claims against him and said he is attempting to stay focused on vaccinations, reopening the economy and upcoming budget negotiations.
But asked to respond to members of his own party who have called for his ouster, Cuomo grew combative and proposed a hypothetical situation in which JCOPE, the state’s ethics board, made complaints against all lawmakers public.
“(P)ut them out in the public arena and then decide publicly if those senators should resign,” he said, adding “that’s absurd.”
The governor went on to outright reject allegations made by Karen Hinton, a former staffer who worked with him during his days as federal Housing and Urban Development secretary.
Hinton says Cuomo once summoned her to his “dimly lit” hotel room during a trip. The pair talked about their personal lives for a while and, Hinton told the Washington Post, when she tried to leave, Cuomo embraced her and pulled her back to him when she pulled away.
She described the hug as “too long, too tight, too intimate.”
Cuomo brushed off Hinton’s accusations as politically motivated.
“Every woman has a right to come forward, that’s true, but the truth also matters. What she said is not true,” he said on Sunday. “She has been a longtime political adversary of mine, highly critical for many, many years, and has made many, many accusations.”
In response to claims from former aide Ana Liss, who says the governor at different times asked her if she had a boyfriend, touched her on her lower back when posing for a photo and kissed her hand as she rose from her desk, Cuomo said he takes photos at hundreds of events, but he never meant to make “anyone feel uncomfortable in any way. If customs change, I’ll change my customs and behavior.”
That sentiment echoes comments he made on Wednesday when he said he “now fully understand that I acted in a way that made people uncomfortable.”
“It was unintentional and I truly and deeply apologize for it. I feel awful about it and frankly, I am embarrassed by it,” he added.
However, former aide Charlotte Bennett, 25, who has called the governor a “textbook abuser” and claims he came on to her during a one-on-one meeting at the height of the pandemic last year, rejected his apology.
Bennett, Liss and Hinton all came forward after former Cuomo adviser Lindsey Boylan accused the 63-year-old governor of creating a toxic workplace environment that belittled women.
Boylan also claims the governor once forcefully kissed her on the mouth during a meeting at his Manhattan office.
Another woman, Anna Ruch, 33, alleges the governor made unwanted advances toward her and planted an unsolicited kiss on her cheek at a 2019 wedding,
Cuomo says he “never inappropriately touched anybody.”
While calls for the governor’s resignation rattled through the halls of the State Capitol, some party stalwarts are saying they will wait for the results of James’ review.
During a Sunday news conference in Manhattan, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) dodged a question about whether he thinks Cuomo should step down.
“The allegations of each of the women has to be taken seriously. They’re deeply troubling,” Schumer said before praising James.
“I believe that she will turn over every stone, and I believe that she will make sure there’s no outside interference, political or otherwise,” he added.
