US President Joe Biden has joined prominent Democrats in calling on powerful New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign after an independent investigation confirmed that he sexually harassed multiple women.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that Cuomo has repeatedly denied inappropriate conduct while also resisted immediate calls to resign after the probe found he harassed current and former New York state employees.
But his position was looking increasingly untenable late Tuesday after Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the three-term governor should step down and state lawmakers moved to impeach him.
‘I think he should resign,’ Biden told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.
The explosive report detailed allegations by 11 women that paint a ‘deeply disturbing yet clear’ picture of a pattern of abusive behavior by Cuomo and his senior staff, state Attorney General Letitia James said, announcing the findings.
It was not clear if the governor would face criminal prosecution, with James saying the investigation was ‘civil in nature,’ but US media reported that the district attorney’s office in state capital Albany had opened an investigation.
The five-month investigation ‘concluded that Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and in doing so violated federal and state law,‘ James told a news conference.
She said Cuomo engaged ‘in unwelcome and non-consensual touching and making numerous comments of a suggestive sexual nature that created a hostile work environment for women.’
The investigation also found that Cuomo and his senior team took retaliatory action against at least one former employee for coming forward with her story, she added.
Africa Today News, New York can confirm that Cuomo issued an unequivocal denial.
‘I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances,‘ he said in a pre-recorded televised statement.
‘I am 63 years old. I have lived my entire adult live in public view. That is just not who I am. And that’s not who I have ever been.’
And he suggested that resignation was not on his mind, saying: “What matters to me at the end of the day is getting the most done I can for you.
‘And that is what I do every day. And I will not be distracted from that job. We have a lot to do.’
Cuomo also published a response to every allegation made by the women against him on his website, adding: ‘Please take the time to read the facts and decide for yourself.’
Defending his actions, he included photos of prominent Americans, including Biden and ex-president Barack Obama, kissing and hugging people.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK