New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation on Tuesday, bowing to pressure to leave office or face impeachment.
Cuomo said in an appearance in New York City that he would leave office in 14 days and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul would take over. He maintained that he didn’t harass anyone but was “thoughtless” in the way he spoke to and touched women on his staff.
The move marks a stunning denouement to a decades-long political career. Cuomo had dug in, refusing to leave office even after New York Attorney General Letitia James found that he had violated multiple federal and state harassment laws. County prosecutors are weighing criminal charges, while accusers are considering civil lawsuits.
A year ago, Cuomo was riding high, winning praise for his coronavirus response and named as a potential presidential candidate. But in recent months, his reputation soured as multiple women made claims that included unsolicited hugs, kisses and touches, questions about their sex lives, even an invitation to play strip poker while on a government plane. The most serious accusation, under criminal investigation by a county prosecutor, alleged the governor had groped an aide at his executive mansion.
Cuomo, 63, also has faced investigations that his administration covered up Covid nursing-home deaths, provided relatives with virus testing before it was widely available, mishandled construction of the Mario Cuomo Bridge and misused public resources while accepting $5 million to write a book, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.