Schumer, Gillibrand Say Cuomo Should Resign

Schumer, Gillibrand Say Cuomo Should Resign
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York, N.Y., on March 8, 2021. (Seth Wenig/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
Mimi Nguyen Ly
3/12/2021
Updated:
3/12/2021

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) in a statement late Friday called on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign amid mounting allegations of sexual misconduct.

“Confronting and overcoming the Covid crisis requires sure and steady leadership. We commend the brave actions of the individuals who have come forward with serious allegations of abuse and misconduct. Due to the multiple, credible sexual harassment and misconduct allegations, it is clear that Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and the people of New York. Governor Cuomo should resign,” the two lawmakers said in a statement.

Cuomo’s office did not immediately respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.

The embattled governor on Friday said that he would not resign, even as more than a dozen House Representatives and some fellow Democrats have said he should leave his post.

“Women have a right to come forward and be heard, and I encourage that fully. But I also want to be clear: there is still a question of the truth. I did not do what has been alleged, period,” he said in a call with reporters on Friday.

He added that it was “reckless and dangerous for politicians to ask him to resign before they have all the facts. He has denied all allegations by the women, most of whom are his former aides.

Cuomo’s comments come just before a seventh woman emerged Friday with allegations of sexual misconduct against him. In a New York magazine piece, reporter Jessica Bakeman alleged that Cuomo had often put his hands on her and made her feel uncomfortable.

More than 55 Democratic New York legislators had signed a letter on Thursday calling for Cuomo’s resignation.

On Thursday, New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said that he authorized its Judiciary Committee to start an “impeachment investigation” into the sexual misconduct allegations. The investigation would run parallel to another investigation led by Attorney General Letitia James.

“The reports of accusations concerning the governor are serious,” Heastie said in a statement.

Before the harassment allegations, Cuomo was under fire for allegedly withholding COVID-19 death data from state lawmakers and the public.

His administration in March 2020 had ordered nursing homes to take back residents or take in new residents, even if they had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
State officials only revealed the figure of how many nursing home residents died in hospitals after the state’s attorney general issued a scathing investigative report in January. Officials had resisted state legislators’ requests to obtain the data, claiming it could “be used against us” by the Trump administration.
Zachary Stieber and Reuters contributed to this report.