By Jonathan Allen
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned Tuesday after an investigation found he sexually molested 11 women, increased legal pressure and demands for President Joe Biden and others to step down, a terrifying downfall for a man who was once seen as a possible US presidential candidate .
Cuomo, a Democrat who has been governor of the fourth most populous state since 2011, announced after New York Attorney General Letitia James published the results on August 3 https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ new- york-ag-says-probe-found-gov-cuomo-Sexually-harassed-multiple-women-broke-2021-08-03 of a five-month independent investigation that concluded he had committed behavior in violation of US and state laws.
The investigation, detailed in a 168-page report, found that Cuomo groped, kissed, or made suggestive comments on women, including current and former government employees – one of whom was a state trooper – and retaliated at least one woman for accusing him of sexual misconduct. Cuomo denied wrongdoing.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat from west New York, will take over as governor for a state of over 19 million people by the end of the year Cuomo‘s term of office in December 2022 as set forth in the state’s constitution and is the first woman to hold office.
Cuomo‘s resignation marks the second time in 13 years that a New York governor has resigned in scandal after Eliot Spitzer stepped down in 2008 for patronizing prostitutes. Cuomo also became the last powerful man to be killed in recent years after the rise of the social movement #MeToo against sexual abuse and harassment, politics, Hollywood, business and the world of work.
His resignation saved Cuomo before a possible impeachment through impeachment proceedings in the state parliament. An ongoing impeachment proceedings had only promised an intensification.
Cuomo, 63, was elected governor for three terms, as was his late father Mario Cuomo. He previously served as Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1997 to 2001 under former President Bill Clinton.
Like his father Andrew Cuomo Despite speculation about his possible national ambitions, he never ran for president. He gained national notoriety at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year after holding daily press conferences as his state became the U.S. epicenter of the public health crisis.
The civil investigation found that the acts of Cuomo and his senior advisors violated several state and federal laws, but James did not pursue any criminal charges. Local prosecutors can do this ie Cuomo legal risks still loom.
Local prosecutors in Manhattan, Nassau Counties, Albany County and Westchester Counties said after the report was released that they are investigating the matter and have requested evidence from the independent investigation. The Mayor of New York City said: Cuomo should be prosecuted.
Cuomo had rejected increasing allegations of sexual harassment for months – and denied them again after the investigation report was published. But what was left of his political support crumbled after the results were released. Hours later, Biden – a longtime friend of the governor – told reporters at the White House: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/white-house-calls-cuomo-findings-abhorrent-says-biden-will-address-later-2021-08-03: “I think he should step down.”
Other prominent Democrats, including the two US state senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, also called for the party’s former star to step down.
Investigator https://www.reuters.com/article/us-new-york-cuomo– attorneys / former-upper-us-prosecutor-in-new-york-took-over-cuomo-probe-idUSKBN2F42JA concluded that Cuomo and his aides created “toxic” and “hostile” workplaces in an office ravaged by bullying, fear and intimidation. The complaints of sexual harassment arose after broader criticism from Democratic politicians in New York that Cuomo ruled by intimidation.
Cuomo last year a politician seemed to be on the rise https://www.reuters.com/world/us/comforter-in-chief-persona-non-grata-cuomos-stunning-fall-2021-08-03, who presented himself as a leading figure in television press conferences on the pandemic. His image was boosted through television interviews with his younger brother, CNN host Chris Cuomo.
Shortly after James, another Democrat, detailed the results, Cuomo, the divorced father of three adult daughters, issued a video statement https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/video-audio-rush-transcript-governor-cuomo– replies-independent-reviewer-report, in which he said, “I have never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances.”
“I just am not” Cuomo said in the video as he argued that what women termed sexual advances were innocuous gestures and comments inspired by a natural physical warmth derived from the culture in which he grew up. In the video, he stated that he had no plans to resign and specifically mentioned fighting the pandemic.
A Marist Survey http://maristpoll.marist.edu/marist-poll-results-analysis-governor-andrew-cuomo/#sthash.Zx6wYGys.8sJphJMv.dpbs, which was released the day after the report was released, showed that 59% of New Yorkers wanted it Cuomo resign, compared to 32% who said to serve out his term and 9% who weren’t sure. However, only 52% of the Democrats were in favor of resigning.
(Reporting by Jonathan Allen and Joseph Ax; writing by Will Dunham; editing by Daniel Wallis and Howard Goller)
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