NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Gov. Andrew Cuomo vowed Friday that he would not resign, saying a growing number of politicians calling for him to step down over sexual misconduct allegations are “reckless and dangerous” and that he wouldn't bow to “cancel culture.”
"I did not do what has been alleged, period," Cuomo told reporters on an afternoon phone call in which he again said, "I'm not going to resign."
The governor said “women have a right to come forward and be heard and I encourage that fully,” but he said “there are often many motivations for making an allegation, and that is why you need to know the facts before you make a decision.”
Responding to dozens of lawmakers who have called on him to resign this week, Cuomo said he respects their "right to take a position" but that it's important ongoing investigations into his conduct—including one overseen by state Attorney General Letitia James—come to a conclusion so New Yorkers get the full picture.
"There are now two reviews on the way. No one wants them to happen more quickly and more thoroughly than I do. Let them do it," he said.
A majority of state lawmakers and more than half of New York’s Democratic congressional members are now calling for the governor to step down. The state Assembly on Thursday allowed an impeachment investigation into Cuomo.
“Politicians who don’t know a single fact yet form a conclusion and an opinion are in my opinion reckless and dangerous,” Cuomo said. “The people of New York should not have confidence in a politician who takes a position without knowing any facts or substance. That, my friends, is politics at its worst.”
“Politicians take positions for all sorts of reasons, including political expediency and bowing to pressure,” Cuomo added. “But people know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture and the truth.”
The governor also addressed the most recent allegation against him, considered the most serious yet, that he groped a female aide in Albany's Executive Mansion late last year.
"The last allegation is not true. And I have not had a sexual relationship that was inappropriate, period," he said.
“I never harassed anyone. I never assaulted anyone. I never abused anyone,” the governor said. “To the extent you get these people who say, ‘Well he took a picture with me and I was uncomfortable.’ I apologized for that.”
Asked by 1010 WINS' Juliet Papa if he could continue to govern effectively amid the allegations—a question a number of lawmakers have raised—Cuomo said the state is at a critical moment amid a fiscal crisis and the pandemic.
"I have to get a budget done with the Legislature in two weeks," he said. "They are doing an investigation, and that’s fine, and we’ll cooperate with the investigation. In the meantime, we're going to negotiate a budget. In the meantime, I have to do millions of vaccines."
“I don’t think there’s a person in a better position to help the state get through this period than the experience that I bring to it,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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