The president said he thinks Cuomo could “end up being sued”.
President Joe Biden said in an exclusive interview with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News on Tuesday that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo should step down if an investigation confirms allegations that he committed sexual harassment.
“I know you said you wanted the investigation to continue,” Stephanopoulos told Biden, referring to an investigation by the New York attorney general over Cuomo’s allegations of harassing several women. “If the investigation confirms the women’s allegations, should he resign?”
“Yes,” replied the president. “I think he will probably end up being sued as well.”
Seven accusers have brought charges against the Democratic governor in recent weeks, and an allegation that he palpated a woman has been referred to the police in Albany, NY. Several leading New York Democrats, including Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, have called on Cuomo to step down.
Cuomo denied the charges.
Biden has so far hardly supported the immediate end of the Cuomo government.
“There must be an investigation to determine whether what she says is true,” Biden told Stephanopoulos during an extensive interview in Darby, Pennsylvania. “This is what is happening now.”
He added: “There may be a criminal case linked to this. I just don’t know.”
“Senator Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, the majority of the Congressional delegation do not think he can be an effective governor now,” asked Stephanopoulos. “Can it serve effectively?”
“Well, this is a trial for them to make,” said the president.
Biden said that “it must be assumed that a woman is telling the truth and should not be used as a scapegoat and become a victim for presenting herself”.
“It takes a lot of courage to move forward,” said the president. “So it is assumed that they should be taken seriously. And they should be investigated. And that is what is happening now.”
Biden’s comments on Tuesday went a step further than his only public comments on the charges against the governor.
On Sunday, asked by ABC News during a brief conversation about whether Cuomo should resign, Biden said: “I think the investigation is underway and we should see what it brings.”
The president visited the Philadelphia suburbs on Tuesday to promote the $ 1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill he signed last week.
Watch more of the interview with President Joe Biden on ABC’s “Good Morning America” program on Wednesday, March 17, at 7:00 am EDT.