After defiantly rejecting calls earlier Friday by New York’s Democrat Congressmen that he resign, N.Y. Governor Andrew Cuomo lost the confidence of New York’s two Democrat U.S. senators, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand who issued a joint statement late Friday afternoon calling on Cuomo to resign.
The Schumer-Gillibrand statement cites the numerous allegations of sexual assault and harassment made against Cuomo, but not the COVID nursing home scandal that killed thousands of elderly New Yorkers.
“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.”
🚨SCHUMER AND GILLIBRAND CALL ON CUOMO TO RESIGN pic.twitter.com/btnmUlZACe
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) March 12, 2021
Cuomo said at a phone press conference Friday he would not resign and denied the allegations. “Bowing to cancel culture and the truth. People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture, and the truth. Let the review proceed, I am not going to resign. I was not elected by the politicians, I was elected by the people.” And, “I never harassed anyone, I never assaulted anyone, I never abused anyone.”
https://twitter.com/TVNewsHQ/status/1370449235330617344
More women came forward Friday with new allegations against Cuomo. Reporter Jessica Bakeman wrote about her experience at the hands of Cuomo in an article published by New York (excerpt).
Andrew Cuomo’s hands had been on my body — on my arms, my shoulders, the small of my back, my waist — often enough by late 2014 that I didn’t want to go to the holiday party he was hosting for the Albany press corps at the executive mansion.
I was 25 years old and working as a statehouse reporter for what is now Politico New York. I had been on the Capitol beat for a couple years by then, but I was still among the youngest reporters in the press corps, and one of the few women in the group whose job it was to report on the governor’s every move. Everyone else was going, and some had been covering state government for decades. I thought if I skipped the event, I might miss out on some intangible opportunity to cement myself as a part of that community. I ignored my instincts and went anyway, walking over from the New York State Capitol Building with several colleagues.
Shortly after I arrived, news broke on my beat, and I had to return to the Capitol. I decided to thank the governor for inviting me and, more importantly, to offer my best wishes for his father’s recovery. Former governor Mario Cuomo was dying at the time.
I walked up to the governor, who was in the middle of a conversation with another reporter, and waited for a moment when I could interject. He took my hand, as if to shake it, then refused to let go. He put his other arm around my back, his hand on my waist, and held me firmly in place while indicating to a photographer he wanted us to pose for a picture.
My job was to analyze and scrutinize him. I didn’t want a photo of him with his hands on my body and a smile on my face. But I made the reflexive assessment that most women and marginalized people know instinctively, the calculation about risk and power and self-preservation. I knew it would be far easier to smile for the brief moment it takes to snap a picture than to challenge one of the most powerful men in the country.
But my calculation was a bit off. I was wrong to believe this experience would last for just a moment. Keeping his grip on me as I practically squirmed to get away from him, the governor turned my body to face a different direction for yet another picture. He never let go of my hand.
Then he turned to me with a mischievous smile on his face, in front of all of my colleagues, and said: “I’m sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable? I thought we were going steady.”
I stood there in stunned silence, shocked and humiliated. But, of course, that was the point.
I never thought the governor wanted to have sex with me. It wasn’t about sex. It was about power. He wanted me to know that I was powerless, that I was small and weak, that I did not deserve what relative power I had: a platform to hold him accountable for his words and actions. He wanted me to know that he could take my dignity away at any moment with an inappropriate comment or a hand on my waist. (The Cuomo administration has declined to comment.)
End excerpt. Please read the complete New York article at this link.
And via the New York Daily News/MSN (excerpt):
A former aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo came forward with allegations Friday that he subjected her to verbal and mental abuse after hiring her because of her physical appearance, becoming the seventh woman to accuse the embattled governor of sexually charged misconduct.
The ex-aide, only identified as Kaitlin, told New York Magazine that she first encountered Cuomo at a fundraiser in 2016 hosted by the lobbying firm she was working for at the time.
At the end of the event, the governor approached her and other employees at the lobbying firm to introduce himself, according to Kaitlin.
When he got to Kaitlin, Cuomo told her he had a feeling she would soon be working in state government, she said.
“Then he grabbed me in a kind of dance pose,” Kaitlin recalled to the magazine. “I was thinking, ‘This is the weirdest interaction I’ve ever had in my life’ … I was like, ‘Don’t touch me.’ Everybody was watching.”
Later that week, Kaitlin said she got a call from the governor’s office asking her to interview for a job.
She said she’s confident the only reason she got that call was because Cuomo liked her looks.
Meanwhile, Cuomo looking a bit out of sorts this afternoon.
These photos! Already imagining this scene in the move about the Cuomo takedown. Bravo @ANGUSMORDANT @Reuters pic.twitter.com/RVwpmgOdEn
— Emily Brooks (@emilybrooksnews) March 12, 2021
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo walks on the grounds of the Governor's Mansion following allegations that he had sexually harassed young women, in Albany. Photo by Angus Mordant pic.twitter.com/8KuRbXyuNL
— corinne_perkins (@corinne_perkins) March 12, 2021
