Democrat New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday that he will be resigning after an independent investigation found he had “sexually harassed a number of current and former New York State employees.”
“I would never want to be unhelpful in any way. And I think that given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to government, and therefore that’s what I’ll do, because I work for you, and doing the right thing is doing the right thing for you,” Cuomo said.
The scandal began in December, when the first of 11 women accused Cuomo of sexual misconduct. The women, most of whom were his employees, said Cuomo engaged in behavior including nonconsensual kissing, groping, inappropriate invitations to play strip poker and comments about their sex lives.
The investigation into Cuomo’s actions found that “the Governor sexually harassed a number of current and former New York State employees by, among other things, engaging in unwelcome and nonconsensual touching, as well as making numerous offensive comments of a suggestive and sexual nature that created a hostile work environment for women.”
“Our investigation revealed that the Governor’s sexually harassing behavior was not limited to members of his own staff, but extended to other State employees, including a State Trooper on his protective detail and members of the public,” it continued. “We also conclude that the Executive Chamber’s culture—one filled with fear and intimidation, while at the same time normalizing the Governor’s frequent flirtations and gender-based comments—contributed to the conditions that allowed the sexual harassment to occur and persist. That culture also influenced the improper and inadequate ways in which the Executive Chamber has responded to allegations of harassment.”
According to Axios, “Cuomo faced mounting calls to resign from within his own party even before the sexual misconduct investigation had concluded. Those calls included more than two-thirds of congressional Democrats from New York and a majority of the New York State Assembly, which has the power to impeach the governor.”
“President Biden had resisted calling for Cuomo to resign, but said that he should step down after the investigation corroborated the women’s allegations,” Axios added. “The New York State Assembly had also launched its own impeachment proceedings, and multiple local prosecutors had opened criminal investigations.”
