Gov. Andrew Cuomo will resign from office, he said Tuesday, citing his desire to spare New Yorkers "months of political and legal controversy" stemming from the sexual harassment allegations he is facing.
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The governor tendered his resignation a week after New York's attorney general released the results of an investigation that found he sexually harassed 11 women, including a New York state trooper and several current and former aides. Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul is set to replace him in 14 days.
“This situation, by its current trajectory, will generate months of political and legal controversy," Cuomo said during a live announcement from Albany. "That is what is going to happen. It will consume government. It will cost taxpayers millions of dollars. It will brutalize people."
Were the State Assembly to impeach him, the process would lead to "months of litigation," while costing taxpayers money that should be spent "managing COVID, guarding against the delta variant, reopening up the state, fighting gun violence and saving New York City," he maintained.
"'New York Tough' means 'New York Loving,' and I love New York, and I love you. And everything I have ever done has been motivated by that love," he said. "And I would never want to be unhelpful in any way. And I think that given the circumstances, the best way I can help now, is if I step aside, and let government get back to governing. And therefore that’s what I’ll do.”
While Cuomo offered an apology to his accusers during his announcement, both he and his attorney, Rita Glavin, continued to maintain some of them were not telling the truth.
“The most serious allegations against me have no credible factual basis in the report, and there is a difference between alleged improper conduct and concluding sexual harassment,” he said.
“Now, don’t get me wrong. This is not to say there are not 11 women whom I truly offended. There are,” he said. “And for that, I deeply, deeply apologize. I thought a hug, and putting my arm around a staff person while taking a picture, was friendly, but she found it to be too forward. I kissed a woman on the cheek at a wedding, and I thought I was being nice, but she felt it was too aggressive.”
Cuomo also specifically addressed the allegations lodged against him by two of his accusers for the first time on Tuesday.
A state trooper who worked on his detail told investigators he frequently made “flirtatious,” “creepy” comments to her. She also said he touched her stomach and back on two separate occasions.
The governor on Tuesday said the troopers who worked for him would “often hold doors open or guard the doorways.”
“When I walk past them, I often will give them a grip of the arm, a pat on the face, a touch on the stomach, a slap on the back,” he said. “It’s my way of saying, ‘I see you. I appreciate you. And I thank you.’”
“In this case, I don’t remember doing it at all. I didn’t do it consciously with the female trooper,” he added. “But it was… insensitive. It was embarrassing to her, and it was disrespectful. It was a mistake, plain and simple.”
A health care professional who administered a COVID-19 test he took in March 2020, meanwhile, said she felt comments he made on live television — including telling her she “ma[de] that gown look good” — were inappropriate.
“I was joking,” Cuomo said of the gown remark. “Obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t have said it on national TV. But she found it disrespectful. I take full responsibility for my actions.”
“My sense of humor can be insensitive and off-putting. I do hug and kiss people casually, women and men. I have done it all my life. It’s who I’ve been since I can remember,” he added.
“In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone. But I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn," he went on to say. "There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have.”
In a statement released minutes after Cuomo’s briefing, Hochul said she agreed with his decision to resign.
“It is the right thing to do, and in the best interest of New Yorkers,” she said. “As someone who has served at all levels of government and is next in the line of succession, I am prepared to lead as New York state’s 57th governor.”
The governor could still face criminal charges, as several prosecutors across the state have launched their own probes into the allegations detailed in Attorney General Letitia James’ report.
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