Cuomo rejects calls to resign, apologizes for past behavior
“New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday apologized for his behavior toward several women who have accused him of making unwanted advances but denied that he ever touched anyone ‘inappropriately’ and rejected calls to resign,” according to CNN.
To date, at least three Democratic state assemblymembers in New York’s legislature have called for Cuomo to step down. Six more lawmakers who identify as Democratic Socialists also supported Cuomo’s resignation.
At the federal level, U.S. Representatives Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.), Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) also called for his resignation. The New York Daily News did note, however, that neither Malliotakis nor Stefanik “ever called on former President Donald Trump to resign or face scrutiny after more than two dozen women accused him of sexual harassment and assault before, during and after the 2016 campaign.”
Anna Ruch told the New York Times that Cuomo approached her during a crowded wedding reception in 2019 and put his hand on her lower back, which was exposed by an open-back dress. She also accused Cuomo of putting his hands on her face and asking if he could kiss her.
“Ruch is the first woman to accuse Cuomo of an unwanted advance and the first who did not work for him,” according to CNN.
Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett both served as aides in the Cuomo administration. Boylan served three years in the Cuomo administration and accused him of once kissing her on the lips without consent, touching her lower back, arms and legs, comparing her to rumored ex-girlfriends and suggesting they play strip poker.
Cuomo’s spokeswoman Caitlin Girouard said that all Boylan’s “claims of inappropriate behavior are quite simply false.”
Bennett worked as an executive assistant and health policy adviser under Cuomo, alleging the governor asked her a series of intrusive questions about her personal life and whether she felt age made a difference in romantic relationships.
Cuomo did not deny that he asked Bennett personal questions in a statement. He did, however, decline further comment until an independent review he requested had concluded.
The governor first tried to appoint federal Judge Barbara Jones to oversee the review himself before he ceded that decision to New York Attorney General Letitia James, who will select a private attorney to investigate Cuomo.
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