Skoufis urges resignation, rejects Cuomo’s apology
State Sen. James Skoufis on Wednesday called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign over allegations of sexual harassment, making him the first Democratic state legislator in the MidHudson region, and one of only a handful across New York, to do so.
Cuomo, during a video briefing several hours later, said he will not step down, and he issued a lengthy apology for his behavior that led to the allegations.
“I’m not going to resign,” the Democratic governor said, answering a reporter’s question.
Bur Skoufis, D-Cornwall, did not change his position. In an interview with NBC News’ Chuck
Todd shortly after Cuomo spoke, the senator called the apology “part attempt at contrition and part defiance,” noting that, in publicly addressing his accusers, Cuomo used the phrase “if you felt uncomfortable.”
“There’s no ‘if’ anymore,” Skoufis said to Todd. “... I don’t amend my statement” that Cuomo should resign.
“While some contrition is long overdue, it does not excuse his actions,” Skoufis said in a Wednesday afternoon email to the Freeman.
In a statement issued Wednesday morning, before Cuomo spoke, the senator said: “The past week has been a period of significant reflection for our state as we all, with gut-wrenching dismay, absorbed the allegations lodged by a number of women against the governor. Lindsey Boylan’s, Charlotte Bennett’s and Anna Ruch’s experiences lay bare intolerable hostility, exhibited by a high level of detail, photographs, text messages, emails, journalistic vetting and the governor’s non-denials.”
Boylan and Bennett are former aides to Cuomo who allege inappropriate behavior by the governor while they worked for him. Ruch, who has not worked for Cuomo, alleges he touched her and asked to kiss her at a wedding in 2019.
“As subordinates to the governor, the sexual harassment described by Lindsey and Charlotte is harrowing,” Skoufis said in his statement.
And a photo of Ruch’s face being held by Cuomo at the wedding bears “unmistakable terror” and it is “haunting,” the senator said.
“For these reasons, I cannot, in good conscience, wait for a monthslong inquiry by the attorney general to run its course,” Skoufis said, referring to a probe being overseen by state Attorney General Letitia James. “I have seen sufficient evidence to conclude that, beyond a reasonable doubt, the governor’s behavior represents a pattern of abuse that deems him unfit for office. Governor Cuomo must resign.
“Some fellow Democrats have attempted to compare the current situation to former President Trump, arguing that if he did not face consequences, neither should Governor Cuomo,” Skoufis added. “While dozens of women have come forward with sexual harassment allegations against former President Trump, he is not the standard by which we should be holding our leaders accountable.”
Skoufis also said Cuomo’s “refusal to appear before the public over this past week lends further credibility to the allegations brought forward by the three women. ... Distressingly, the silence speaks volumes.”
Cuomo had not made a public appearance since last Thursday, and had not taken questions from reporters since Feb. 22, at the time Skoufis issued his statement. The governor’s video briefing on Wednesday came several hours later, and it started as a routine update on the coronavirus pandemic before Cuomo made a lengthy statement about the sexual harassment allegations and took reporters’ questions.
“I now understand that I acted in a way that made people uncomfortable,” the governor said. “I truly and deeply apologize for it. I am embarrassed.”
Cuomo also said, though, that he “never touched anyone inappropriately.” Skoufis, in the Todd interview, replied: “There’s a photo of him touching someone (Ruch) inappropriately.”
Skoufis, in his morning statement, said a “dark cloud hangs over our Capitol, the likes of which makes it extraordinarily difficult for the Legislature to move forward with the essential work at hand. Of equal importance, the women of this state — both current and future — demand a governor who respects them and leaders who hold him accountable when he does not.”
Other Democratic state legislators in the Mid-Hudson Valley have been critical of Cuomo in recent days but have not called for his resignation. Likewise, state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs has not called for the governor to step down, saying the investigation must play out first.
Numerous Republicans in the Legislature, from the Mid-Hudson region and elsewhere in the state, have said Cuomo should quit.
Skoufis is chairman of the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, which has been looking into coronavirus-related deaths among nursing home residents in New York state.
Skoufis has taken heat from Republicans for not issuing subpoenas in the matter and for not speaking out after participating in a Feb. 10 Zoom call with top Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa and several state Democratic lawmakers. DeRosa said during the call that Cuomo administration withheld certain data about the deaths out of fear it would be used against the state by the Trump administration.