Cuomo: New York governor defiant as more Democrats tell him to quit

  • 2021-03-12 22:05:39
Andrew Cuomo has insisted he will not heed calls to quit as New York governor over allegations of sexual misconduct. He was already being investigated after complaints from five women and is now facing allegations of assault from a sixth. New York politicians Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jerry Nadler are the latest Democrats asking him to step down. The New York governor has denied all of the allegations against him. Mr Cuomo reiterated he would not resign in a phone call on Friday. "I did not do what has been alleged," he said. "I never harassed anyone, I never assaulted anyone, I never abused anyone." Earlier, Ms Ocasio-Cortez and Congressman Jamaal Bowman released a joint statement that said, "we believe these women, we believe the reporting, we believe the Attorney General, and we believe the fifty-five members of the New York State legislature." "Governor Cuomo can no longer effectively lead in the face of so many challenges", the statement said. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a long-time political rival of Democrat Governor Cuomo, told reporters on Thursday that the latest allegation is "disgusting to me, and he can no longer serve as governor." "I'm not going to resign. I was not elected by the politicians. I was elected by the people," Mr Cuomo responded on Friday afternoon. Mr Cuomo, whose term in office comes to an end in 2022, was last year praised for his handling of the Covid epidemic in his state. However, this year he has been accused of obscuring the scale of coronavirus deaths in the state's nursing homes. Since the allegations of harassment were made a string of people have called for his resignation. On Thursday, New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said he had given the go-ahead for an "impeachment investigation" into the allegations made against Mr Cuomo. The investigation, which will interview witnesses and look at evidence, would be the first step towards impeachment. More than 55 Democratic legislators in New York have signed a letter calling on him to step down. In a statement Mr Cuomo called the new claims, reported by the Times Union of Albany on Wednesday, "gut-wrenching". He has previously said that he would wait for the results of an independent investigation into the allegations, which is being overseen by the New York's attorney general Letitia James.  

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