President Joe Biden said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo should step down if allegations of sexual harassment recently made by several women are confirmed by an investigation conducted by the state attorney general.
Biden was asked about the accusations against Cuomo, a Democrat, by George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, in part of an interview released on Tuesday.
“Yes,” said Biden when asked if Cuomo should resign if the investigation confirms the allegations of several women. “I think he will probably end up being sued as well.”
The full interview is scheduled to air on Wednesday.
Several women accused Cuomo of inappropriate behavior, which prompted him to resign. Cuomo denied touching anyone inappropriately, but acknowledged that he acted in ways that made people uncomfortable. He said it was unintentional and apologized.
The comments are Biden’s strongest yet, after he said this week that there should be a wait-and-see approach to see what the investigation reveals. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Refused to ask for Cuomo’s resignation, although dozens of other leading Democrats, including Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand – both from New York – resigned.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday, Pelosi called the charges “credible and serious”, adding that she has confidence in the investigation conducted by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
A challenger Cuomo told reporters last week at a telephone briefing ahead of Schumer and Gillibrand’s statement that he would not bow down to “cancel the culture” and would not go anywhere.
“I will not resign,” he said, adding that lawmakers would not know the facts until James’ investigation was completed.
A group of nearly 60 state legislators demanded Cuomo’s resignation, and Assembly President Carl Heastie authorized the Judiciary Committee to initiate an impeachment investigation.
Biden said in his interview that “it must be assumed that a woman is telling the truth and should not be used as a scapegoat and become victimized for presenting herself”.
He added: “It takes a lot of courage to perform. So it is assumed that they should be taken seriously. But there must be an investigation to determine whether what she says is true.
James appointed two lawyers, one of whom was a former United States attorney, to lead the investigation.
