New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters during a conference call that he will not resign after another woman accused him of sexual harassment this week. His remark came after a total of five women came forward accusing Cuomo of inappropriate conduct over the last month.
“I was elected by the people of the state. I’m not going to resign because of allegations,” Cuomo told reporters over the phone, “There is no way I resign.”
Cuomo added that his critics should “let the attorney general do her job.”
One of his latest accusers is Karen Hinton, another one of Cuomo’s former aides, who accused him of inviting her to his hotel room and making inappropriate advances.
Cuomo argued that Hinton’s claims are “not true,” before calling her a “long-time political adversary.”
Cuomo apologized for his actions during a press conference on Wednesday, “It was unintentional, and I truly and deeply apologize for it. I feel awful about it and, frankly, I am embarrassed.”
Cuomo’s senior advisor Rich Azzopardi disputed claims made by Ana Liss, who said that Cuomo kissed her hand and asked if she had a boyfriend, among other remarks she described as inappropriate.
Azzopardi said, “Reporters and photographers have covered the governor for 14 years watching him kiss men and women and posing for pictures. At the public open-house mansion reception, there are hundreds of people, and he poses for hundreds of pictures. That’s what people in politics do.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James opened a probe into the sexual harassment claims last week. Although she is also currently investigating Cuomo’s pandemic policies which may have resulted in the excessive deaths of the state’s nursing home patients.
Jame’s investigation began after Governor Cuomo’s aide told lawmakers that the Cuomo administration knowingly withheld nursing home data because of a possible Department of Justice investigation.
