New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced Monday evening he would resign from his post, following allegations of physical abuse from four women.
“It’s been my great honor and privilege to serve as Attorney General for the people of the State of New York,” Schneiderman said in a statement Monday evening.
“In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me. While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8, 2018,” he continued.
The resignation comes shortly after New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on Schneiderman to step down.
“No one is above the law, including New York’s top legal officer,” Cuomo said in a statement Monday evening.
The allegations were detailed in a report by the New Yorker published earlier Monday.
Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam told the publication Schneiderman hit them multiple times while they were in bed, against their will. The two women characterized his behavior as “assault” and disclosed that the violence typically occurred after Schneiderman had been drinking.
Although neither reported their accusations of misconduct to police, both said they had to receive medical attention following strikes to their ears and face, and after being choked. Both women also claimed Schneiderman warned they would be killed if they cut ties with him, an allegation Schneiderman’s spokesperson denied.
Another woman who was romantically linked to Schneiderman told Manning Barish and Selvaratnam she also experienced nonconsensual physical violence in her interactions with him. Although the third woman remains anonymous, the New Yorker verified the accounts Manning Barish and Selvaratnam provided.
A fourth woman, who asked to remain anonymous, has also accused Schneiderman of slapping her on the face after she rejected one of his advances. She shared a photo with the New Yorker of the mark left on her face after the incident and also revealed she screamed out of shock and pain after the blow.
Schneiderman backed the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct and recently issued praise for news outlets who won Pulitzer Prizes for their sexual harassment coverage.
Schneiderman previously denied the allegations of misconduct and noted he has not participated in nonconsensual sex.
“In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in nonconsensual sex, which is a line I would not cross,” Schneiderman said in a statement.
Schneiderman has historically been an adversary of President Trump.
After the 2016 election, he won a $25 million settlement for former attendees of Trump University who claimed they were deceived by the unaccredited program. In April after the settlement was finalized, he said “victims of Donald Trump’s fraudulent university will finally receive the relief they deserve.”
Additionally, he requested that state lawmakers and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo change a section of the law that could permit those who receive federal pardons from Trump to dodge state criminal charges.
