March 14, 2021, 5:55 pm
March 14, 2021, 5:55 pm
Update: March 14, 2021, 5:57 p.m.
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New York/Washington (dpa) More and more women are bringing serious charges of harassment against New York Governor Cuomo – and now there are increasing demands for resignation against him.
Andrew Cuomo, New York State Governor, speaks at a press conference.
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Following allegations of harassment by several women, calls for resignation from leading Democrats have further increased pressure on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Leaders of his own party, including Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, who represent New York in twos in the US Senate, joined demands from more than a dozen state MPs in the US House of Representatives. Cuomo, however, still firmly refuses to resign. At the weekend, he demonstratively went about his official business, for example published current data on corona infection and the vaccination campaign in his state.
I was elected by the people in the state, the 63-year-old said at a telephone press conference on Friday. I wasn’t elected by politicians. I will not resign on charges. Meanwhile, more and more women – most of them former employees of the governor – are accusing Cuomo of sexual harassment. The allegations involve physical and verbal harassment. Cuomo has apologized for possible misinterpretations of his behavior, but also stressed again on Friday: I did not do what I am accused of, period.
Under mounting public pressure, New York Attorney General Letitia James opened an investigation. Cuomo pledged to work with investigators. US President Joe Biden had announced through his spokeswoman that he supported the investigation.
In addition to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, a majority of the 19 MPs from New York in the US House of Representatives also called for Cuomo’s resignation, including Jerry Nadler and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Nadler said that Cuomo has lost the New Yorkers’ trust and must resign. Ocasio-Cortez said that Cuomo could no longer run New York effectively, given the many credible allegations. In the House of Representatives of the State of New York Cuomos, too, many Cuomos demanded resignation, and investigations into possible impeachment proceedings were opened.
The spokeswoman for the US House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, called the allegations against Cuomo on Sunday at the Abc News broadcaster credible and serious – but waived a request for resignation. Cuomo loves New York, Pelosi said, and he should look into his heart and wonder if he can still govern effectively.
Cuomo was once considered a beacon of hope for the Democratic Party. In the corona pandemic, he presented himself as an alternative to the then Republican President Donald Trump. However, he was then suspected of having concealed the true extent of the drama because of the numbers of deaths in nursing homes that were subsequently revised upwards. As a result, Cuomo was already under pressure before the harassment allegations became public.
dpa-infocom, dpa: 210314-99-818892 / 3
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