Cuomo to Resign Amid Sexual Harassment Scandal
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will take over on August 24
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
Governor Andrew Cuomo
announced Tuesday
that he will step down
as New York’s chief executive
amid the ongoing sexual
harassment scandal against him.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy
Hochul will succeed Cuomo as the
Empire State’s 57th governor —
and the fi rst woman ever to hold
the offi ce. Cuomo said she will
take offi ce in 14 days, on August
24, following a transition.
The three-term governor denied
criminal wrongdoing a week after
Attorney General Letitia James issued
a report of an independent investigation
into allegations made by
11 women that the governor sexually
harassed them. He had been
facing possible impeachment in the
Assembly based on the charges in
the report, as well as other unrelated
accusations of wrongdoing.
Even so, Cuomo said he did not
want the scandal to distract from
the important work that lies ahead.
His decision came a day after
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie
stated that Cuomo had lost the
confi dence of the majority of the
house’s members.
“This is about politics and our
political system is too often driven
by political extremes,” Cuomo said
in a his Aug. 10 televised speech.
➤ DAVID, from p.6
New York State Attorney General’s
report on the investigation of Governor
Andrew Cuomo is very concerning.
Over the past several days,
HRC’s employees, supporters, board
members, and partners have raised
questions about the appropriateness
of Alphonso David’s actions
and whether they align with HRC’s
decades’ long mission of fi ghting for
equality and justice for all.”
Despite multiple calls for his
resignation, David will still lead
the organization during the investigation.
In a statement, David
condemned the governor’s actions
and said he backs the decision of
Governor Andrew Cuomo will leave offi ce in August.
“This situation by its current
trajectory will generate months
of political and legal controversy,
that is what we’re going to have. It
will consume government. It will
cost taxpayers millions of dollars,”
he added. “This is one of the most
challenging times for government
in a generation. Government really
needs to function today, it really
needs to perform. It’s a matter of
life and death, government operations,
and wasting energy on distractions
is the last thing that state
HRC’s board to thoroughly investigate
the allegations. He claims he
was not aware of the extent of the
governor’s misconduct, although
the allegations have made national
headlines since last year.
“It is an important effort to ensure
transparency that I have supported
and engaged in with the
board and staff since I joined this
organization,” he said in a written
statement posted on Twitter. “I appreciate
the open dialogue we are
having and the support of so many
across the organization. Multiple
inaccuracies have been circulating
and therefore, this defi nitive review
is important. For instance, I had no
knowledge of any incidents of misconduct
government should be doing. And I
cannot be the cause of that.”
Cuomo also apologized to the 11
women who accused him of sexually
harassing them, and insisted that his
actions were not made out of malice.
Cuomo’s remarks came on the
heels of another presentation by his
attorney, Rita Glavin, who sought to
dispel a number of the allegations
made in the independent report
— blaming the investigators for not
hearing the governor’s side, and accusing
the media of convicting Cuomo
involving the 11 survivors
referenced in the AG’s report and,
in fact, learned about these allegations
by reading the report.”
He added, “I was directed to turn
over an electric copy of a counseling
memo regarding a state employee
after I left state service, which
I was obligated to do for a former
client. As the report makes clear, I
was not involved in any public dissemination
of that memo (which
was part of a larger physical fi le
all in possession of the Governor’s
Offi ce). I was also asked to sign a
letter about the same employee,
which I refused to sign and never
agreed to circulate it. I did not sign
their original letter nor any of their
MARK HALLUM
POLITICS
in the court of public opinion.
In a statement, incoming Governor
designate Hochul said Cuomo
made the right decision for the
state, and that she will be ready to
take offi ce in two weeks.
“I agree with Governor Cuomo’s
decision to step down. It is the right
thing to do and in the best interest
of New Yorkers,” Hochul said. “As
someone who has served at all levels
of government and is next in the line
of succession, I am prepared to lead
as New York State’s 57th Governor.”
other letters because it runs counter
to my basic principles and the
work I dedicated my life to. I have
been and will always be an ally to
survivors everywhere for whom we
fi ght every day.”
Roberta Kaplan, an out attorney
who was a co-chair for Time’s Up,
which supports victims of sexual
harassment, stepped down from
her position on August 9 after facing
heat after she was mentioned
in the AG report for reviewing a
never-published op-ed against one
of the governor’s accusers. In her
resignation letter, Kaplan, who
has represented DeRosa, cited her
legal work as a reason why she is
departing.
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