Attorney General quits

NEW York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who advocated for women’s issues and opposed the policies of President Donald Trump, announced his resignation yesterday after four women he was involved with accused him of physical violence.

Mr Schneiderman said he contested the women’s accounts, but “while these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time”.

Two women had spoken to The New Yorker on the record, saying Mr Schneiderman repeatedly hit them during the course of their relationships with him in recent years, and never with their consent. Neither woman filed any police complaints, but both said they sought out medical attention and confided in people close to them about the abuse.

A third woman who also was involved with him told her story to the other two women, but said she was too frightened to come forward. A fourth woman said Mr Schneiderman slapped her when she rebuffed him during an intimate encounter, but also asked to remain unidentified.

The accusations led Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to call for an investigation and for Schneiderman to immediately resign his position.