The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, resigned from his post this Tuesday, after 11 women from his work environment denounced him for sexual harassment.
"I think that, given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is
if I step aside
and let the government rule again, and therefore that is what I will do, because I work for you, and do what right, it's doing the right thing for you, "Cuomo said.
His resignation comes a week after the New York State Attorney General's Office determined that
Cuomo sexually harassed several women,
including state workers and former employees.
This as a result of an independent investigation launched after public complaints by a group of women who accused the Democrat of inappropriate acts and comments.
Since the first accusations emerged months ago,
Cuomo has defended his innocence and was reluctant to resign.
"I want you to know directly from me that I have never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. I am 63 years old, I have lived my entire adult life in full view of everyone. I am just not that person," he said in a video on the network. social Twitter.
Since the publication of the report there have been calls for his resignation, the most notable of which was that of the president, Joe Biden.
"I think I should resign," the president said a week ago at a press conference this Tuesday at the White House.
Andrew Cuomo's senior advisor resigns amid sexual harassment investigation
Aug. 9, 202100: 31
He
was
also
turned back by politicians from his own party, such
as the leader of the state Assembly, Carl Heastie, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, or the leader of the majority in the Senate, Chuck Schumer.
"Recognizing his love for New York and the respect he has for the office,
I ask the governor to resign,"
said
Pelosi.
"As we have said before, the reported actions of the governor were deeply disturbing, inappropriate and completely unacceptable," Schumer and New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said in a joint statement.
"It was not normal"
Cuomo's executive assistant, who denounced him for sexual harassment, publicly identified herself on television in an interview broadcast by CBS this Monday morning.
The woman, Brittany Comisso, assured that the Democratic politician "broke the law" and had to "be held accountable" for it.
Comisso clarified that he never had consensual sexual relations with the governor of the state of New York, but that the hugs he gave her were not the ones he would give "to his mother or his brother."
[New York State leaders demand the resignation of Governor Andrew Cuomo, following new accusations against him]
"I didn't say anything. I didn't say anything in all this time. People don't understand that this is the governor of New York State. There are soldiers who are outside the mansion. They are not there to protect me. They are there to protect him.
I felt that if he did something, he was not going to be the one who was going to be fired or got into trouble, "he
added.
"I felt like I had nowhere to go": the testimony of one of the women who points to Andrew Cuomo as a sexual harasser
Aug. 4, 202102: 45
The alleged victim appeared under the pseudonym
"Executive Assistant 1"
in the New York Attorney General's report.
The woman alleged that Cuomo had behaved inappropriately with her since 2019, with kisses and hugs that made her feel uncomfortable, and that last November at his official residence, where he went at his request,
the politician put his hands under her blouse and touched her breast
in her Albany mansion.
He also claimed that on another occasion the governor grabbed him and groped his rear while they took a photo in the executive mansion.
"Maybe for him, who thought this was normal.
But for me and the other women he did this to, it was not normal.
It was not welcome. And it was certainly not consensual," he concluded.
The investigation
Two outside attorneys interviewed 179 people over the course of 5 months, whose testimonies made it possible to establish that the Cuomo Administration is a "hostile work environment", "fraught with fear and intimidation."
The investigation also found that Cuomo violated federal and state laws prohibiting workplace harassment, and that he and his team retaliated against at least one person who reported the incidents.
"These interviews and tests reveal a deeply disturbing but clear picture: Governor Cuomo sexually harassed current and former state employees, federal and state laws," New York Attorney General Letitia James explained Tuesday.
"What this investigation reveals is a disturbing pattern on the part of the governor," he
insisted.
Cuomo had been in command of the state governor's office since 2011 and previously served as attorney general of New York from 2007 to 2010, secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1997 to 2001.
His father was also the state governor and his brother, Chris Cuomo, is the CNN news anchor.