New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday ignored strong pressure from Democrats to resign as he becomes engulfed in sexual harassment allegations and a scandal related to his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I did not do what has been alleged. Period,” Cuomo said in a conference call with reporters, adding that demands for him to resign are motivated by political animus, not factual evidence.
“I’m not going to resign,” he added, saying he was not “elected by the politicians but by the people.”
NEW YORK DEMOCRATIC HOUSE MEMBERS CALL FOR CUOMO TO RESIGN
Cuomo made his announcement after a contingent of congressional Democrats, including Reps. Jerry Nadler and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, on Friday demanded that he step down. More than half of all New York lawmakers have called for the governor to step aside.
“After two accounts of sexual assault, four accounts of harassment, the Attorney General’s investigation finding the Governor’s admin hid nursing home data from the legislature & public, we agree with the 55+ members of the New York State legislature that the Governor must resign,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement.
Cuomo has repeatedly insisted that he will not resign and has denied inappropriate behavior. An aide before his Friday press conference stated that the meeting was only “a normal COVID briefing call.”
Cuomo’s fall from grace comes about a year after he became one of the most popular figures early in the pandemic, praised for his forceful leadership expressed in daily press briefings, which won him an International Emmy Founders Award.
But throughout 2020, reports dribbled out of Albany that Cuomo’s office had covered up the death count in nursing homes to bolster his public image. Pressure for Cuomo to resign grew after a wave of sexual harassment claims. Six women accused Cuomo of misdeeds: lewd comments, unwanted kisses, and inappropriate sexual advances. These claims triggered widespread denunciations from Democrats at both the state and national level.
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The FBI and the Biden Justice Department in February revealed that they were investigating Cuomo after an aide said the governor’s office had intentionally altered the nursing home numbers to prevent the high death count from being “used against us.”
Cuomo, during his press conference, repeatedly stressed that “an opinion without facts is irresponsible,” and that when state and federal investigations into his actions conclude, his decision not to resign would be vindicated.
After the call, New York Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay told the Washington Examiner that Cuomo has shown he is the “last to recognize” that his credibility is in question.
“The longer he remains in office, the more of a distraction he becomes from the critical state business we need to complete,” Barclay said.
