President Biden has waded deeper into the political quagmire threatening Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s hold on power in New York.
In his public comments before Tuesday, Biden had sought to balance his support of the women alleging Cuomo had acted inappropriately toward them with the governor’s right to due process.
But in a new interview, Biden said if the investigation into Cuomo’s behavior verified the women’s claims, the governor should resign.
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“Yes,” Biden told ABC. “I think he’ll probably end up being prosecuted, too.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James is looking into the accusations of seven women, many of them former Cuomo aides. Their complaints range from forcible kissing to lewd comments. James’s investigation is being conducted at the same time as the New York state Assembly’s “impeachment inquiry” into the matter. The impeachment proceedings were initiated by Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat.
Cuomo has denied the allegations while apologizing for making the women feel uncomfortable. He’s also resisted calls for him to step down, including from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and the majority of his state’s congressional delegation.
Biden told reporters at the White House over the weekend that it was prudent to wait for the conclusion of James’s investigation to “see what it brings us.”
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki followed up his remarks on Monday, adding Biden found the claims “troubling, hard to read.” Cuomo, however, was still welcome to join a weekly Tuesday call with governors regarding the country’s coronavirus pandemic response, Psaki said.
She continued, “Our objective, though, here continues to be to get the COVID pandemic under control, and we don’t want the people of New York or any state to be impacted negatively.”
