Andrew Cuomo: Democrats step up pressure on New York governor to resign | International

Scandals surrounding Governor Andrew Cuomo jumped this Friday from New York to Congress in Washington. The chorus of Democratic voices demanding the state governor’s resignation over allegations of sexual harassment of six women and for covering up data on covid-19 deaths in nursing homes has become a looming snowball. to bury his political career, although the politician clings to the post and reiterated that he has no intention of resigning. About 15 members of the New York Democratic Congress, including prominent Chuck Schumer, Senate Leader Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jerry Nadler, joined the group of 55 state lawmakers, also Democrats, who called for their resignation on Thursday. . On the same day, the State Assembly ordered an investigation into the two cases which opens the door to a possible Accused.

During a press conference call, Cuomo maintained his innocence and assured that he will focus on his job. “I have never harassed anyone, nor attacked, nor abused. There are always grounds for making accusations like this [por las seis mujeres que denuncian haber sido acosadas]. I am not resigning, I will focus on my job and help with ongoing investigations so that we can really get the facts. I do not think it is responsible for taking a position on these serious accusations before knowing the facts, “he said on Friday, stressing that he will not give in” to the culture of cancellation.

Cuomo thus came up against the biggest political offensive against him to date, the coordinated movement of the fifteen members of Congress – almost all of the representatives from New York to Washington – who argue that the complaints against the veteran Democratic politician are credible and alarming. New York City Mayor, also a Democrat – and Cuomo’s nemesis – Bill de Blasio, even called them shameful. “The repeated accusations against the governor, and the manner in which he has responded to them, prevent him from continuing to serve as governor at this stage,” said Congressman Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. , in a statement posted on the social network Twitter.

The progressive Ocasio-Cortez, for her part, links the two scandals to conclude, through a declaration also signed by her colleague Jamaal Bowman, that “in the face of such challenges, Governor Cuomo cannot continue to lead. [el Estado]”. In his third consecutive term, the governor previously said he had no intention of resigning, but his intention could be buried under pressure from fellow believers. The veteran politician, who gained wide popularity for his handling of the first wave of the pandemic, has repeatedly chanted a mea culpa for his behavior, “which could have been misinterpreted” by the six women who, so far, have denounced the harassment of the governor in the media and social networks. All but one were working with him when the events allegedly happened. Cuomo also apologized for the discomfort his “unconscious behavior” may have caused the young women.

In addition to the crescendo Democratic votes, the investigation ordered Thursday by the Judiciary Committee of the Assembly of the State of New York, which will run in parallel with the investigations ordered by the Attorney General of the State of New York and those of the police Albany – seat of the Assembly -, opens the way to a possible Accused, or impeachment, of the governor, which is said to be the first in more than a century in the state. In his statement, Congressman Nadler distinguishes between hypothetical criminal liabilities arising from investigations – Albany Police are trying to find out if any of the cases were a felony, having existed according to the touching victim – and “the question of confidence “in political leadership.

For the most critical Democrats, who do not question the presumption of innocence despite “the belief of women and the existing information on the facts”, the stake is the solvency of Cuomo as an administrator, weakened by a growing loss of confidence in their leadership. “The governor has lost the confidence of the people of New York. Governor Cuomo must resign ”, concludes Nadler, heavyweight of the establishment democrat. The scandals surrounding Cuomo managed to win unanimity among representatives of the party apparatus and members of the more progressive faction.

The New York Assembly’s clear path to a possible Accused he has put all the cards on the table, because there doesn’t seem to be any options other than resignation or impeachment. New York is thrilled by the downfall, and in record time, of the rising star of the Democratic Party, who has come to cherish the idea of ​​being the new attorney general in Joe Biden’s administration – a lawyer for training, he already served in New York between 2007 and 2010 – and who in just a year has gone from hero due to his handling of the pandemic to villain. His political future is shrunk by leaps and bounds, after this weekend the Democratic leader of the state Senate withdrew his support and a third of the legislature called for his resignation or early Accused. The New York Assembly has also initiated proceedings to deprive it of the emergency powers it was unanimously granted a year ago to deal with the pandemic.

Like a car with no brakes and downhill, Cuomo’s political career began to take a turn for the worse when in January it was learned that a dozen public health experts in his administration had resigned during the pandemic due to differences with their decisions about the immunization system or the shutdowns of the economy, and in general for its executive way of doing politics. Days later, the case of falsified data on covid-19 deaths in state nursing homes exploded, and Cuomo was forced to admit that the actual figure stands at over 15,000, instead of the 8000 admitted by his administration for months; the case is being investigated by the FBI and a district attorney in New York.

But the auction brought charges against six women for alleged sexual harassment, mostly in the workplace. The latest media complaint, of a woman whose identity is unknown and who claims to have been summoned overnight to the governor’s residence in Albany to help him resolve a cell phone malfunction, is the most serious and references to certain events, which would have taken place at the end of 2020, during which the governor would have incurred “aggressive trial and error” on the part of the victim. This is the case Albany Police are investigating, in case it could constitute a felony.

Subscribe here wing bulletin of EL PAÍS América and receive all the informative keys of the current situation in the region