“Now I understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or very personal and that some of my comments, due to my position, made others feel in ways I never intended,” said Cuomo in a statement on February 28, after the The New The York Times published the account of an accuser, Charlotte Bennett. “I recognize that some of the things I said were misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.
At the same time, his government is also being investigated by federal prosecutors for dealing with asylums during the pandemic. Several of Cuomo’s top advisers, including his most senior adviser, Melissa DeRosa, instructed the state Department of Health to remove the numbers on the deaths of residents from a report on asylums, an investigation by the Times found.
In February, the Times reported that at least nine senior public health officials from the state Department of Health resigned or retired during the pandemic because their advisers acted without their input or experience.
Mr. Cuomo made it clear, in public and private comments, that he believed that state public health officials did not understand how to conduct a large-scale operation such as vaccination, and that his close advisers, such as Mr. Schwartz, had no experience. in public health, could do a better job.
Days after the nursing home report appeared in early July, Cuomo discussed the possibility of writing a book about his leadership in the pandemic for the first time. The book became a best seller after its October release, but last week its publisher said it would no longer be promoting the title and would not publish it in a brochure because of the nursing home investigation.
Mr. Cuomo apologized for his actions and comments with women, which he suggested were misinterpreted. He asked for patience while the investigations are carried out.
On Friday, he reiterated that he had no intention of resigning and attacked lawmakers, who at the end of the day included Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, for urging him to step aside “without knowing any facts and substance”.
That same day, Cuomo was photographed outside the governor’s mansion in Albany, where he is increasingly isolated, a blanket draped over his shoulders, a cell phone pressed to his ear.