Probe says he did it, but Cuomo says no quitting

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo faced mounting pressure yesterday to resign, including from President Joe Biden and other onetime Democratic allies, after an investigation found he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women and worked to retaliate against one of his accusers.

‘‘I think he should resign,’’ Biden told reporters yesterday, echoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and New York’s US Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, all Democrats.

The leader of the state assembly, which has the power to bring impeachment charges, said it was clear Cuomo could no longer remain in office. Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat, said he would move to complete an impeachment inquiry ‘‘as quickly as possible’’.

Cuomo remained defiant, saying in a taped response to the findings that ‘‘the facts are much different than what has been portrayed’’ and that he ‘‘never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances.’’

In a telephone conversation with Heastie, Cuomo insisted he wouldn’t leave office and told the speaker he needed to work fellow Democrats and garner enough votes to stop an impeachment, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

But Heastie said he couldn’t do that, said the person, who could not publicly discuss details of the private conversation and spoke to on condition of anonymity.

The nearly five-month, non-criminal investigation, overseen by New York’s attorney-general and led by two outside lawyers, concluded that 11 women from within and outside state government were telling the truth when they said that Cuomo had touched them inappropriately, commented on their appearance or had made suggestive comments about their sex lives.

Anne Clark, who led the probe with former US Attorney Joon Kim, said the allegations had varying degrees of corroboration, including other witnesses and contemporaneous text messages.

Investigators interviewed 179 people, including the governor himself.

‘‘These interviews and pieces of evidence revealed a deeply disturbing yet clear picture: Gov Cuomo sexually harassed current and former state employees in violation of federal and state laws,’’ New York Attorney-General Letitia James said at a media conference yesterday.

Many of the women said they feared retaliation if they reported Cuomo’s behaviour, investigators said. –

AP New York Governor Andrew Cuomo makes a statement on a pre-recorded video released yesterday. An investigation has found that he sexually harassed multiple current and former state government employees. Cuomo has denied that he ever touched anyone inappropriately.