NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo spoke at God’s Battalion of Prayer Church in Brooklyn Sunday morning as part of his comeback effort.
Cuomo has been attempting to win back some public stature after a series of sexual harassment allegations, a COVID death cover-up scandal and widespread condemnation of dirty political tactics brought down his administration and forced him to resign in August of 2021.
Last week he released an advertisement to call the allegations against him into question. He plans to launch a podcast with his brother Chris Cuomo who lost his job at CNN after evidence that he used his power as a news anchor to help his older brother during the barrage of scandals.
It’s unclear whether he intends to run for office again.
Cuomo used his time on the pulpit to decry “cancel culture” and portray himself as a martyr whose political career was torpedoed by a bad-faith smear campaign organized by his political opponents.
“My situation is illustrative of a larger issue that must be addressed because it endangers all of us,” said the former governor. “The truth is the so-called cancel culture mentality is growing and is dangerous and Democrats must beware.”
Cuomo mentions “cancel culture” or “cancellation” twenty five times in his 25-minute long speech.
His thinking borders on conspiratorial when analyzing his downfall. He speaks of some anonymous “they.” A cabal of faceless malefactors who colluded with Attorney General Letitia James to bring about his destruction.
“They actually used the cancel culture mentality to enable and advance their self-serving political scheme,” he said.
When James started her investigation into Cuomo’s alleged misbehavior, he welcomed the probe and said it would clear him.
He blames “them” for the flood of sexual harassment allegations from 11 different women.
“Why did they announce to the world 11 legal violations when the District Attorneys showed they couldn’t even prove one case?” he asked. “We know why — to create a shock value — to inflame the cancel culture, light up the internet and stampede the press and politicians… They used cancel culture to effectively overturn an election and that was the greatest Albany arrogance. They didn’t elect me, you did.”
Despite Cuomo’s claim that he was exonerated by district attorneys refusing to prosecute sexual harassment cases against him, some of the district attorneys made clear they found the reports to be credible if not prosecutable. A 168-page report from Attorney General Letitia James came to the same conclusion.
Oswego DA Gregory Oakes told the New York Post explicitly, “This decision is not an exoneration.”
James called responded to his speech Sunday afternoon.
“Serial sexual harasser Andrew Cuomo won’t even spare a house of worship from his lies. Even though multiple independent investigations found his victims to be credible, Cuomo continues to blame everyone but himself," she said. "Cuomo wasn’t railroaded; he quit so he wouldn’t be impeached. New Yorkers are ready to move forward from this sick, pathetic man.”
Even while denying sexual harassment, Cuomo admits to some level of murky misbehavior or misunderstanding.
“No one ever told me I made them feel uncomfortable and I never sensed that I caused any discomfort to anyone, I was trying to do the opposite. But I understand that was my error,” he said. “I have been called by some old fashioned, out of touch and been told that my behavior was not politically correct or appropriate. I accept that.”
If the allegations against Cuomo are true, the “old fashioned” norms that Cuomo had trouble shaking included groping employees, nonconsensually kissing employees and incessantly talking about your sex life in the work place with staff over 30 years your junior.
Cuomo fails to attribute his downfall to anything other than the sexual harassment allegations. But by focusing on allegations that Cuomo is a sex pest, the former governor is neglecting to even acknowledge the other scandals that forced his resignation.
His administration purposefully undercounted the number of COVID-19 deaths in New York nursing homes by about 50%.
The death rate was exacerbated by a Cuomo policy that allowed elderly people to return to nursing homes from hospitals while still contagious in order to free up hospital beds that were in short supply at the time, according to the Associated Press.
The FBI is still investigating this coverup.
Just as prevalent as allegations of sexual misconduct at the time, were stories of intimidation, harassment and smear campaigns to silence political opponents.
He famously sent the confidential personnel files of women accusing him of sexual harassment to reporters, according to The New York Times.
A state trooper who was assigned to guard Cuomo is currently suing him for sexual harassment and retaliation.
New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim said Cuomo threatened to “destroy” him, when Kim refused to issue a statement backing Cuomo during the 2021 scandals.
EPA administrator Judith Enck says Cuomo’s administration threatened and harassed her after she criticized the state’s fracking policy in a report.
"This was not your garden-variety threatening someone: He was asking me to withdraw a public document that we had submitted," Enck told the Times Union. "I know the Cuomo crew is rough-and-tumble, but to say unless you withdraw this document I’m going to destroy you — that entered a whole new zone. The call was very abusive."
Michael Evans, the architect of Moynihan Train Hall, killed himself as pressure mounted for the project to be completed on schedule.
“He was constantly worried that he was going to be scapegoated,” Evans’ longtime partner Brian Lutz told the New York Post.
On the day of the ribbon cutting for the hall, nine months after Evans killed himself, Lutz blamed Cuomo for his death. “He died by suicide … after being terrorized by Gov. Andrew Cuomo,” he wrote on Twitter.
“My father was right: politics can be a dirty business,” said Cuomo. But for him to portray himself as a martyr for being targeted by a supposed political smear campaign is ironic considering his well documented tactics of smearing political opponents and accusers.
Now that his credibility has run dry and his own campaigns to silence his opponents no longer have the effect they once did, Cuomo says cancel culture is the knife that will slay Democracy.
“The Washington Post masthead says ‘democracy dies in darkness.’ Well, democracy dies in silence also,” said Cuomo.
The former governor, who worked on his fathers gubernatorial campaign at 25 years old, closed his speech characterizing himself as a victimized outsider ready to fight back against slimy Albany fat cats.
“You elected me to fight for you,” he said. “To fight back against the Albany hacks, flacks and bureaucrats, to say hell no to the status quo, to make government work for you rather than for the special interest few, to make New York the best because we believe we are better than the rest.”
An October poll found Cuomo was less popular than Donald Trump in New York State. It remains to be seen whether his charm offensive will have the desired effect.
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