On Friday, New York Governor Democrat Andrew Cuomo declared he has no intention of resigning, despite the growing allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
His comments came after several Democratic Congress members from New York State demanded his resignation. In a conference call, Cuomo stated that he is not part of ‘the club’ and is being targeted by political insiders.
“Politicians who don’t know a single fact but yet form a conclusion and an opinion are, in my opinion, reckless and dangerous. The people of New York should not have confidence in a politician who takes an opinion without knowing the facts and substance… People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture, and the truth. Let the review proceed; I’m not going to resign; I was not elected by the politicians. I was elected by the people,” Cuomo said in a statement.
Over 50 members from the Senate and Assembly have demanded Cuomo resign. Fourteen members of the state’s congressional delegation, including Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Sean Patrick Malone, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Democrat Jerry Nadler, and Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have issued coordinated statements, asking Cuomo to quit.
New York Assembly Speaker Democrat Carl Heastie stated that an investigation would be conducted by the Assembly Judiciary Committee that could pave the way for impeachment.
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Michigan Governor Democrat Gretchen Whitmer has spoken out against Cuomo’s treatment, saying that a different standard is being followed against the New York Governor. In an interview with Politico, Whitmer pointed out that by contrast, Trump remained president for four whole years even though he had several allegations of sexual harassment against him, including rape.
In 2016, some Republicans had asked Trump to drop out of the presidential race following the video footage release that showed him making lewd comments. Meanwhile, Cuomo seems to have the public support necessary to hold on to his post.
A poll conducted by Siena College Research Institute has found that almost 50 percent of the respondents do not want Cuomo to resign amidst the sexual scandals. In another survey conducted by Quinnipiac University, around 55 percent of respondents extended support to Cuomo continuing as the governor of New York.
Legal expert Alan Dershowitz noted that Cuomo is fully justified in dismissing calls for his resignation. In an interview with Newsmax, the author of ‘Cancel Culture: The Latest Attack on Free Speech and Due Process,’ stated that none of Cuomo’s acts had reached a level of impeachable conduct.
“Accusations don’t constitute guilt… I think that Gov. Cuomo should stick to his guns. Let there be a full investigation. And if nothing more comes out, these sexual allegations are not enough to deprive him and deprive the millions of voters who voted for him of his governorship,” he said in the interview.
Biden and Cuomo
President Biden, who has been silent on the Cuomo scandal, recently stated that he is waiting for the current investigation conducted by Attorney General Letitia James to decide a further course of action. The governor’s staff members are reportedly not coming into the office due to the recent sexual allegation controversies.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki has confirmed that Biden will continue working with Cuomo as they do not want New York people to be negatively affected due to the scandal.
Cuomo leads the White House’s weekly coronavirus response call and is also the head of the National Governors Association (NGA). The press secretary stated that it was up to the NGA to decide whether to continue with Cuomo.
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