“I now understand that my interactions could have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my point of view, made others feel in ways I never intended,” he said. Cuomo said in a statement on February 28 that after The New York Times published a report by one prosecutor, Charlotte Bennett. ‘I admit that some of the things I said were misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.
At the same time, his government is also being investigated by federal prosecutors for dealing with nursing homes during the pandemic. Several of Cuomo’s best assistants, including his most senior adviser, Melissa DeRosa, have instructed the state health department to remove figures on the deaths of residents from a report on nursing homes, a Times investigation found.
In February, the Times reported that at least nine top public health officials in the state health department resigned or retired during the pandemic because their help acted without their input or expertise.
Mr. Cuomo made it clear in public and private remarks that he believes that public health officials have no understanding of how to perform a large-scale operation such as vaccinations, and that his next of kin, such as Mr. Schwartz, not public health experience, can do a better job.
Days after the report on old age homes appeared in early July, Mr. Cuomo first discusses writing a book about his pandemic leadership. The book became a bestseller after it was released in October, but its publisher said last week that it would no longer promote the title and that it would not be released in paperback due to the investigation into the nursing home.
Mr. Cuomo apologized for his actions and comments against women, which he said were misinterpreted. He encouraged patience while the investigations were being conducted.
On Friday, he reiterated that he did not intend to resign and spoke out against lawmakers, who by the end of the day included senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, for urging him to step down “without know any facts and content.
The same day, Mr. Cuomo photographed outside the governor’s mansion in Albany, where he became increasingly isolated, threw a blanket over his shoulders and pressed a cellphone to his ear.