As political support erodes, embattled NY Governor Andrew Cuomo made clear that he would not resign from office. Reportedly telling Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins they would have to impeach him if they wanted him out of office.
“They don’t override the people’s will, they don’t get to override elections,” he said. “I was elected by the people of New York state. I wasn’t elected by politicians.”
Five women have now accused Cuomo of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. Their allegations compounded the controversy already surrounding New York’s governor after reports indicated that he intentionally undercounted COVID-19 deaths among residents of long-term care facilities during the earlier part of the pandemic.
Former press aide Karen Hinton detailed an uncomfortable hotel room interaction she had with Cuomo when the two met in California years ago as they were trying to patch things up after an estrangement.
Hinton said that as she got up to leave, Cuomo gave her a hug that was “very long, too long, too tight, too intimate.”
Ana Liss, a policy and operations aide who worked for the governor from 2013 to 2015, described an encounter;
Cuomo called her “sweetheart,” kissed her hand and asked personal questions including whether she had a boyfriend.
When asked, Cuomo described his interaction with Liss as friendly banter, and stated Hinton is a long time political adversary.
He said that “the premise of resigning because of allegations is actually anti-democratic.”
Cuomo added that the state attorney general’s investigation into allegations should be completed and then “we go from there.”