New York Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jerry Nadler on Friday joined the chorus of Democrats calling for embattled Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign amid mounting allegations of sexual misconduct.
“This week, the second sexual assault allegation and the sixth harassment allegation was leveled against Governor Cuomo,” Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “The fact that this latest report was so recent is alarming, and it raises concerns about the present safety and well-being of the administration’s staff. These allegations have all been consistent and highly-detailed, and there are also credible media reports substantiating their accounts.”
The lawmakers spoke after the Albany Times Union reported that a woman said Cuomo aggressively groped her at the executive mansion after summoning her there to help him with a cellphone issue. Cuomo is alleged to have reached under her blouse, according to the paper.
Cuomo has denied the accusation, saying on Wednesday: “I have never done anything like this.”
It was the sixth woman to come forward with allegations against Cuomo, and it is the latest in a cavalcade of accusations facing the governor, whose popularity soared in mid-2020 amid news conferences in which he presented a calm face in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic — going on to release a book about “leadership lessons.”
But he has for months been dodging scrutiny over his handling of the virus in nursing homes, particularly an order that demanded nursing homes take in COVID-positive patients. The state attorney general is investigating after new revelations early this year.
CUOMO GOVERNORSHIP HANGING BY THREAD AS ALLEGATIONS MOUNT
In recent weeks, that scandal has been eclipsed by the onslaught of claims of harassment and outright assault. Last month, Cuomo apologized for interactions that he said “may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended.” However, he denied inappropriately touching anyone.
But a growing number of Democrats have called for Cuomo to step down, of which at least three House Democrats became the latest as of Friday.
“Unfortunately, the Governor is not only facing the accusation that he engaged in a pattern of sexual harassment and assault. There is also the extensive report from the Attorney General that found the Cuomo administration hid data on COVID-19 nursing home deaths from both the public and the state legislature,” the statement from Ocasio-Cortez and Bowman said.
“As members of the New York delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives, we believe these women, we believe the reporting, we believe the Attorney General, and we believe the fifty-five members of the New York State legislature, including the State Senate Majority Leader, who have concluded that Governor Cuomo can no longer effectively lead in the face of so many challenges.”
Nadler, meanwhile, called the accusations “credible” and “serious.” He said that while Cuomo is guaranteed due process, “the question before us is squarely a political judgment.”
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“Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of the people of New York. Governor Cuomo must resign.”
Moments after those statements, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., added her voice calling for him to resign. Meanwhile, Mayor Bill de Blasio repeated his call that Cuomo step down on Friday.
“The governor must resign. He can no longer do the job,” he said.
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