Joe Biden calls for New York governor’s resignation over sexual harassment allegations

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, asked for the resignation of the governor of New York on Tuesday, Andrew Cuomo.

It was after an independent investigation concluded that the Democratic politician he sexually harassed several women.

“I think I should stop”, Biden said at a White House press conference.

The US president has so far avoided calling for Cuomo’s resignation despite the several charges against him for sexual harassment, but the report released Tuesday by New York Attorney General Letitia James changed his mind.

However, Biden declined to say whether Cuomo should be arraigned if he refused to resign, although he did assure it was “a possibility” the governor is risking.

The White House chief assured that he had not read the New York attorney’s report and did not know the “details”, only his conclusions, and recalled that in March he had already said that, if James’ investigation concluded that Cuomo was responsible for the harassment, he would ask for your resignation.

Earlier, Cuomo had rejected the complaints sexual harassment, including of certain employees. He was also accused of instilling a culture of fear within his administration.

When the result of the Cuomo investigation was released, the White House had described as “aberrant” acts of sexual harassment allegedly committed by the governor.

“I don’t think anyone could have seen this morning (the announcement from the New York attorney’s office) and not considered the outlier accusations. At least they seemed so to me,” the House spokeswoman said. Blanche Jen Psaki at your daily press conference. .

However, the spokesperson avoided answering several questions about whether Biden thought Cuomo should step down and asked to wait until the president’s press conference, which was held at 4:00 p.m. local time (6:00 p.m. in Argentina).

Over 170 interviews and 74,000 tests

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday presented the result of five months of research into various allegations of harassment against Cuomo, after interviewing 179 people and obtaining 74,000 pieces of evidence, including documents, emails, messages and photos.

James noted that the governor violated “federal and state laws” by “sexually harassing several women, many of whom were young, with Inappropriate touching, kissing, hugging and unwanted comments“, between 2013 and 2020.

The 169-page report features eleven whistleblowers whose allegations are described in detail, including nine former or former government employees, and “all found the governor’s behavior disturbing, humiliating, uncomfortable and inappropriate,” either during a meeting or on several occasions.

Andrew Cuomo defends himself

Cuomo categorically denied the charges against him on Tuesday, insisting that “the facts are very different from what has been described.”

“I want you to know directly from me that I have never inappropriately touched a woman or made sexual advances,” the governor said in a televised message just two hours after the report’s results were released.

The investigation launched a wave of calls for Cuomo’s resignation, among them that of the Democratic leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, and the other senator who represents with him in New York in the upper chamber, Kirsten Gillibrand.

House Speaker Democrat Nancy Pelosi also called for Cuomo’s resignation.

Source: AFP and EFE