Cuomo could have departed with dignity instead of calling in lawyers
“I take full responsibility for my actions,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in his resignation speech Tuesday. Even offering thanks to the women who accused him of sexual misconduct, the New York Democrat said they taught him “an important lesson” and repeated: “I accept full responsibility.”
It was a noble sentiment, and it would have been a graceful way to exit the political stage. But none of it was true.
Cuomo had made his position perfectly clear before he opened his mouth underneath the Great Seal of the State of New York. For preceding him, underneath that same Great Seal, was his private lawyer, Rita Glavin, who blamed Cuomo’s troubles on his accusers, the investigators, state legislators, the media -- everybody, that is, but Cuomo himself.
She accused the women who came forward with claims against the governor of lying, of witness tampering, of seeking revenge against Cuomo or of having a “comfort level” with Cuomo that led them to seek his attentions. She accused investigators of misconduct, saying they were biased against the governor, disregarded exculpatory evidence and knowingly reported false information. She denounced the “media frenzy” and alleged that most legislators “made up their mind without hearing the other side.”
“What happened was that from Day One, it became building a case against Governor Andrew Cuomo,” the lawyer proclaimed behind a placard announcing “Rita M. Glavin Esq.” with what looked to be yet another official sea Who gives the official state imprimatur to a private lawyer attacking the “mob mentality” of the governor’s accusers and state officials? Not somebody who takes “full responsibility.”
Among the many casualties of the Trump era are a lost sense of shame among public figures and a lost sense of accountability.
Cuomo made a feint toward responsibility, acknowledging that “I truly offended” 11 women, “and for that I deeply, deeply apologize.” But he was just joking! He meant it to be nice! “In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone,” he said. “But I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate and I should have. No excuses.”
But the bulk of his resignation speech was, well, excuses. He faulted “a bias or a lack of fairness in the justice system.”
And he repeatedly blamed a “politically motivated” investigation (launched by a fellow Democrat).
“Rashness has replaced reasonableness. Loudness has replaced soundness,” he lamented, adding that the “political environment is too hot” for him to make his case. Therefore, “I think that, given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside,” he said.
This, too, would have been a good way to bow out -- if it weren’t for the 40 minutes his lawyer had just spent trying to discredit his accusers.
Glavin said Brittany Commisso had changed her story in her “false” allegation of groping. (“He did not rub her rear end.”)
She said Lindsay Boylan was “not honest” and “was out for some type of revenge.”
She said allegations about the governor’s conduct with Charlotte Bennett “could not be further from the truth” (but he apologizes for anything “that made her feel the way she did”).
State Entity Employee #2’s allegations were included only “to make the governor look bad.”
State Entity Employee #1 had “no pictures” to prove her claim that “the governor touched her butt.”
Ana Liss’s and Anna Ruch’s allegations don’t “rise to the level of sexual harassment.”
And so on. “I don’t mean to take away from how this woman felt,” Glavin said at one point, “but we do need to think about qualitatively what each of the women are saying and whether these are impeachable offenses.”
No, we didn’t need to do that -- because Cuomo was about to take his (likely) impeachment off the table. His forced resignation is probably the best result for New York and for the principle that public figures should be accountable. But it’s a pity he couldn’t do it with more dignity.