NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that Gov. Andrew Cuomo should face criminal charges after an independent investigation by the state attorney general substantiated allegations of sexual harassment by 11 women against the governor.
Asked on “CBS This Morning” if Cuomo should be criminally charged, de Blasio said, “It looks like it.”
Pressed further by correspondent David Begnaud, de Blasio said, “Yeah. If you assault a woman, if you do something against her will sexually, that's criminal. And the Albany County District Attorney is looking at that and I think he should be charged.”
Asked by a reporter about the issue at his daily briefing later in the morning, de Blasio said, “Clearly, there’s grounds for prosecution.”
“But the most important thing right now is for the governor to resign and end the agony he’s putting the state of New York through and end the pain that these 11 women are going through, who were wronged in every sense in an unacceptable matter,” the mayor said.
State Attorney General Letitia James announced the findings of the civil investigation into Cuomo on Tuesday without referring the case to prosecutors for possible criminal charges, but she said local police and prosecutors could use the evidence and findings to build their own cases.
The district attorney in Albany said he was requesting James’ investigative materials and encouraged victims to come forward. The Manhattan District Attorney's Office, as well as the DAs for Westchester and Nassau counties, said Wednesday that they would also be requesting evidence to see if any crimes happened in their jurisdictions.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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