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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has rejected calls for him to resign amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment, denying he ever touched anyone “inappropriately”.
“I’m not going to resign. I work for the people of the state of New York. They elected me, and I’m going to serve the people,” Mr Cuomo said at a media conference today.
“We have a full plate. We have COVID, we have a recovery, we have rebuilding, we have a teetering New York City, we have a terrible financial picture, we have to do vaccines. So no. I’m going to do the job the people of the state elected me to do.”
In the past week, three women have accused Mr Cuomo, a high-profile Democrat, of making unwanted advances.
The scandal began when former aide Lindsey Boylan, who is now a Democratic politician, published her account of the Governor’s behaviour towards her, which included an allegation that he kissed her on the lips without consent in 2018.
“Andrew Cuomo abused his power as Governor to sexually harass me, just as he had done with so many other women,” Ms Boylan wrote.
RELATED: Another woman accuses Cuomo of harassment
“Telling my truth isn’t about seeking revenge. I was proud to work in the Cuomo administration. For so long I had looked up to the Governor, but his abusive behaviour needs to stop.”
A second former aide, Charlotte Bennett, said Mr Cuomo had interrogated her about her sex life and asked whether she would consider a relationship with an older man.
Ms Bennett said the Governor had “refused to acknowledge or take responsibility for his predatory behaviour”.
Then a third woman, former White House photographer Anna Ruch, said Mr Cuomo had made an unwanted advance towards her at a wedding in 2019, grabbing her face and planting an unsolicited kiss on her cheek.
“I was so confused and shocked and embarrassed,” she told The New York Times.
A friend of Ms Ruch photographed the incident.
Mr Cuomo has agreed to co-operate with an independent investigation into his conduct, led by New York’s Attorney-General Letitia James.
His remarks today were the first he had made in person since the harassment scandal began.
“I want New Yorkers to hear directly from me on this,” Mr Cuomo said.
“First, I fully support a woman’s right to come forward. And I think it should be encouraged in every way.
“I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. It was unintentional, and I truly and deeply apologise for it. I feel awful about it. And frankly, I am embarrassed by it.
“That’s not easy to say. But that’s the truth.
“But I want you to know this from me directly. I never touched anyone inappropriately. I never touched anyone inappropriately. I never knew, at the time, that I was making anyone uncomfortable. I never knew, at the time, I was making anyone feel uncomfortable.
“And I certainly never meant to offend anyone, or hurt anyone, or cause anyone any pain. That is the last thing I would ever want to do.”
He asked New Yorkers to “wait for the facts” from Ms James’ investigation before “forming an opinion” about the allegations against him.
“Get the facts, please, before forming an opinion. The Attorney-General is doing that review. I will fully co-operate with it, and then you will have the facts, and make a decision when you have the facts.
“I also want you to know that I have learned from what has been an incredibly difficult situation for me, as well as for other people. And I’ve learned an important lesson.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for whatever pain I caused anyone. I never intended it. And I will be the better for this experience.”
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Mr Cuomo is also currently embroiled in a scandal concerning the number of nursing home residents who have died from coronavirus under his watch, and whether his administration tried to cover up the true death toll.
In March last year, early in the pandemic, Mr Cuomo issued an order directing nursing homes to accept people who had or were suspected of having the virus, as long as they were medically stable. He also banned nursing homes from requiring a COVID-19 test from any prospective residents before they moved in.
The idea at the time was to free up hospital beds. This was at the point when New York was the epicentre of infections in the US.
Mr Cuomo amended the directive in May to prohibit hospitals from discharging patients to nursing homes unless they had tested negative for the virus.
By the time he changed the order, more than 6000 people with the virus had been admitted to nursing homes across the state.
Last month Mr Cuomo’s top aide, secretary Melissa DeRosa, apologised to Democratic state politicians during a conference call for rebuffing a request, in August last year, for the full tally of nursing home deaths.
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Ms DeRosa said the Cuomo administration “froze” because it thought the tally might be “used against us” by federal prosecutors under the direction of then-president Donald Trump.
One of the Democrats on the call, Assemblyman Ron Kim, later told The New York Post it sounded like “they admitted they were trying to dodge having any incriminating evidence”. He said the Governor should apologise for the order he issued in March.
Mr Kim would later allege that Mr Cuomo called him and threatened to “destroy” him over his public criticism.
The twin scandals have taken a heavy toll on the Governor’s approval rating. According to a new poll from Emerson, his rating has fallen from 71 per cent about a year ago to 38 per cent now, with a plurality of New York voters disapproving of his performance.
Almost two-thirds of respondents said Mr Cuomo should not be re-elected for a fourth term. In addition, 45 per cent said he should resign over the nursing homes scandal.
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