Cuomo resigns over sex harassment scandal
Democrat’s resignation in midst of sex scandal paves way for first female governor of New York state
Andrew Cuomo, New York’s governor, quit yesterday amid a sexual harassment scandal, in a spectacular fall from grace for one of America’s best-known politicians. Mr Cuomo said he was stepping down so as not to be a “distraction” for the government. The Democrat’s resignation paves the way for Kathy Hochul, a 62-year-old centrist, to become New York’s first female governor. An investigation that found Mr Cuomo, 63, sexually harassed at least 11 women.
ANDREW CUOMO, New York’s governor, resigned yesterday amid a growing sexual harassment scandal, in a spectacular fall from grace for one of America’s best-known leaders.
Mr Cuomo, once a hugely popular and trusted politician who had served for over a decade in the role, announced he would be stepping down so as not to be a “distraction” for the government.
The Democrat’s resignation paves the way for the first female governor in New York’s history. Kathy Hochul, the lieutenant (deputy) governor, a 62-yearold centrist former member of Congress, was set to take over the role.
It came after the state’s attorney general released the results of an investigation that found Mr Cuomo, 63, sexually harassed at least 11 women.
Investigators said he subjected women to unwanted kisses, groped their breasts or buttocks or otherwise touched them inappropriately, made insinuating remarks about their looks and their sex lives, and created a work environment “rife with fear and intimidation”. One of Mr Cuomo’s accusers, Brittany Commisso, an executive assistant, said her dream job had “turned into a nightmare”.
Mr Cuomo had initially resisted calls to resign and framed his decision to do so as a political necessity given the firestorm of controversy engulfing him. He said he believed the investigation into his behaviour was politically motivated.
“I have been too familiar with people. I do hug and kiss people casually, women and men. I have done it all my life,” said Mr Cuomo, who had previously portrayed the encounters as misunderstandings attributable to “generational or cultural” differences, a reference in part to his upbringing in an Italian-american family.
The three-term governor described an incident with one of his accusers, a female state trooper who accused him of sexual assault, as “banter”.
“I didn’t realise the extent to which the line has been redrawn,” he said.
At the same time that Mr Cuomo is accused by multiple women of acting inappropriately, he was publicly championing the #Metoo movement and surrounding himself with women’s rights activists, signing into law sweeping new protections against sexual harassment and lengthening the statute of limitations in rape cases.
Addressing his three daughters, he said his “greatest goal is for them to have a better future than the generations of women before them. Your dad made mistakes. And he apologised. And he learnt from it. And that’s what life is all about”. Letitia James, the New York attorney general, denied claims from Mr Cuomo’s team that her investigation had been political. While Ms James, a fellow Democrat, led proceedings, the actual inquiry was conducted by two outside lawyers, Anne Clark and Joon Kim.
Ms James said the governor’s resignation “closes a sad chapter for all of New York, but it’s an important step towards justice”. Her office said it would still be investigating whether Mr Cuomo used public resources in writing a book that prematurely touted his success in beating back Covid. Mariann Wang, a lawyer for two of the accusers, Alyssa Mcgrath and Virginia Limmiatis, said: “My clients feel both vindicated and relieved that Cuomo will no longer be in a position of power over anyone.” Mr Cuomo’s move heads off impeachment proceedings – allowing him to run for office again in the future – but he still faces the possibility of criminal charges, with a number of prosecutors around the state moving to investigate him.
In the end, he followed the advice of his advisers and one-time allies to leave office voluntarily without the stain of impeachment on his name. Until recently it was assumed that he would run again for a fourth term next year.
Many in New York welcomed the news that the state would have its first female governor, pointing to a previous scandal which saw former governor Eliot Spitzer quit in 2008 over his patronage of brothels. “Thank you to all of the survivors who have come forward to tell their stories,” State Senator Jessica González-rojas said.
‘I have been too familiar with people. I do hug and kiss people casually, women and men’