New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has been roiled by a multitude of scandals over the last year, denied all allegations against him of sexual misconduct and maintained that he did nothing wrong.
“No,” the Democratic governor replied on Monday when asked if he was guilty of an array of harassment claims during a press conference in Syracuse. “No. And that’s why I said when people suggest that — to put it very simply, no.”
At least 10 women, many of whom were former aides or staffers, have come forward to allege Cuomo touched them inappropriately or made crude comments during his long political career. New York Attorney General Letitia James opened an investigation into the accusations and has yet to release her findings.
When Cuomo was asked if he will resign if James finds him guilty of the claims, he said, “The report can’t say anything different because I didn’t do anything wrong.”
Cuomo has voraciously denied the allegations and refused to step down amid the inquiry. High-ranking government authorities, including Democratic New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, have demanded he resign from his post.
The governor was also asked on Monday about the Department of Justice’s investigation into the state’s handling of COVID-19 patients and nursing homes, after a report detailed top brass undercounted nursing home deaths and placed coronavirus-positive individuals in spaces with vulnerable, elderly residents in care facilities. Cuomo insisted the DOJ investigation was spurred by the “politics of COVID” and faulted former President Donald Trump for the pandemic issues.
“[The DOJ] is doing a thorough review of the nursing homes situation,” he said. “The nursing homes, what that is going to come down to, in my opinion, is the politics of COVID, and it was always a political debate, frankly [starting] between myself and President Trump about who was responsible for COVID. I believe the federal government was slow on COVID. I believe President Trump did not quickly or adequately address COVID. I think the state was left on its own during COVID.”
The governor added that death metrics for nursing homes are “inconsistent” nationwide and that “New Yorkers were heroes” for keeping people in “homes and facilities safe.”
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Cuomo faces a third high-profile scandal as James, last week, received a referral to conduct a criminal investigation into his supposed use of state resources for his book on leadership during the coronavirus pandemic. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli requested James investigate whether “public resources [were] used in the development and promotion of the governor’s book,” American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Last month, the liberal watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington alleged in a complaint filed with the New York State Board of Elections that Cuomo’s reelection campaign “promoted sales of the book extensively on social media,” including at least four times on Facebook. One post linked to the book’s purchase page on Amazon, saying, “I know we have COVID fatigue, but it isn’t time to quit fighting. Let’s learn the lessons of the Spring to be smart in fighting back this virus now. Thank you for reading.”
