More than 55 Democratic state legislators on Thursday called for the resignation of Governor Andrew Cuomo – and the president of the Assembly said he would hold a meeting later in the day “on the possible ways forward”.
The statement by Cuomo’s fellow Democrats cited the growing accusations of sexual harassment against him and the cover-up of the total number of deaths in nursing homes and said that “he has lost the confidence of the public and the state legislature, making him ineffective at this point in time. most urgent need. ”
“We have a deputy governor who can intervene and lead for the rest of the term, and that is what is best for New Yorkers at this critical time,” added the statement. “
“It is time for Governor Cuomo to step down.”
In response, Assembly President Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) said: “In light of the allegations regarding the Governor in recent weeks, I will be meeting with members at the conference today on possible ways forward.”
Cuomo has faced growing calls to resign or face impeachment as the twin scandals have intensified amid a seemingly endless parade of new revelations and allegations.
The last bomb fell on Wednesday, when a report claimed that an employee of Cuomo claims that Cuomo put his hands under her blouse and groped it at the end of last year at the Executive Mansion in Albany.
That report prompted Mayor Bill de Blasio to say on Thursday that Cuomo “can no longer serve as governor” after having avoided repeated questions about whether he thought Cuomo should resign.
“It’s not one, it’s not two, it’s not three, it’s not four, it’s not five. There are six women performing, ”de Blasio told reporters during his daily press conference at City Hall.
The incident reported on Wednesday by the Albany Times Union allegedly occurred after the woman was summoned to Cuomo’s official residence, heavily protected, to help him solve a problem with his cell phone.
The incident was said to have occurred after the woman was summoned to Cuomo’s heavily protected official residence to help him solve a problem with his cell phone, the Albany Times Union reported.
The newspaper said it did not release the woman’s name, but described her as much younger than the 63-year-old governor.
The allegations of sexual misconduct are the most serious to emerge since a former Cuomo aide, Lindsey Boylan, 36, accused him of sexual harassment in December.
Boylan, now a Democratic candidate for the Manhattan district presidency, did not initially detail his statements, but last month he published an online essay that claimed Cuomo had unexpectedly kissed her “on the mouth” during a 2018 meeting at his Manhattan office.
This prompted four other women – including three former advisers – to publicly accuse him of sexual harassment and other inappropriate behavior that occurred in 2000, when he was President Bill Clinton’s housing secretary.
Sexual harassment and related allegations against Cuomo are being investigated by a team of outside lawyers – including former US Attorney in Manhattan, Joon Kim – who were hired on Monday by Attorney General Letitia James.
The FBI and the Brooklyn Public Prosecutor’s Office also launched an investigation into how the Cuomo government deals with asylums and other long-term institutions during the coronavirus pandemic, sources familiar with the matter told the Post.
According to the New York Constitution, Cuomo’s impeachment would require a simple majority of votes from the Assembly of 150 member states, which is made up of 106 Democrats, 43 Republicans and one independent.
A resolution for Cuomo’s impeachment was tabled earlier this week by Republican members of the Assembly, with minority leader Will Barclay (R-Oswego) saying that “we believe the time has come” to remove the governor from three terms.
Cuomo’s office did not immediately return a request for comment on Thursday, but on Wednesday night the governor – who repeatedly insisted that “I never touched anyone inappropriately” – issued a statement denying the groping allegations.
“As I said yesterday, I never did anything like this. The details of this report are distressing, ”said Cuomo.
“I will not speak about the details of this or any other allegation, given the ongoing review, but I am confident of the outcome of the Attorney General’s report.”
Cuomo promised to cooperate with the investigation and urged New Yorkers to suspend the sentence pending its conclusions.