New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came under increasing pressure on Thursday to resign as the speaker of the House approved an indictment of the misconduct he faces. Carl Heastie, speaker of the New York State House of Representatives, said he authorized the House Judiciary Committee to begin the investigation, which he said would have the power to question witnesses and sue for documents.
The Attorney General’s Office in New York confirmed Thursday night that the investigation into the meeting would not affect their own independent investigation into the sexual misconduct against Cuomo.
The investigation comes as more than 55 lawmakers said in a letter Thursday that they wanted the governor.
“The budget, the fight against COVID-19 and the restart of the economy all depend on clear and reliable leadership,” the letter reads. “In light of the governor’s recognition of inappropriate behavior and the findings of amended data on deaths in the COVID-19 nursing home, he lost the trust of the public and the legislature, which made him ineffective in this time of most urgency. need.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio also called on Cuomo to resign. “It’s disgusting to me, and he can no longer serve as governor,” the mayor said Thursday.
Cuomo said last week that he would not resign, but his office undertook to cooperate with the investigation of the Attorney General.
The calls for resignation come because Cuomo is facing a new allegation of sexual misconduct reported by The Times Union of Albany. The report is based on an anonymous source who, according to the Times Union, has ‘direct knowledge’ of another woman’s claim.
The source told the Times Union that a female assistant to Cuomo became upset when he saw Cuomo holding a press conference on another allegation of sexual misconduct, and told a supervisor that the governor was touching her. The assistant allegedly claimed that Cuomo called her to the executive mansion to help him with a technical problem with his cell phone, before sticking out from under her blouse and loving her.
The assistant, who was not identified, did not file a report, according to The New York Times.
Cuomo denied the allegations and wrote in a statement: “I have never done anything like this.” Cuomo called the details ‘gut-wrenching’.
“I am not going to talk about the details of this or any other allegation, given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the outcome of the Attorney – General’s report,” the governor said.
According to the Times, police in Albany said Thursday that police and the governor’s office had been notified of the allegations. Police officers said the alleged behavior had risen “to the level of a crime”, but that did not mean the department had instituted a criminal investigation, the Times reported.
Cuomo’s acting lawyer confirmed to CBS News that the allegation had been referred to police.
“As a matter of state policy when making allegations of physical contact, the agency notifies the complainant that they must contact their local police department. If they refuse, the agency is obliged to issue itself and notify the department of the allegation, ‘the lawyer said.
“In this case, the person is represented by a lawyer and when the lawyer confirmed that the client did not want to make a report, the state notified the police department and gave them the lawyer’s information,” she added.
The Times Union report is one of many allegations of sexual harassment raised against the governor in the past week. Last week, another former Cuomo assistant set out her own allegations against Cuomo in sexual harassment exclusive interview with Norah O’Donnell.
Charlotte Bennett claims that Cuomo asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life, including whether she would consider dating an older man. Cuomo said he “never made progress” with Bennett, but apologized for some of the comments he made during his tenure.
“I never knew at the time that I would make anyone feel uncomfortable,” Cuomo said. “I never intended to offend or hurt anyone or hurt anyone. I feel terrible that these people feel uncomfortable, hurt, experience pain through the interactions, and I’m embarrassed about it and I feel bad. about it. “