Curtis Sliwa, a New York City mayoral candidate, led the protest. Sliwa issued a video statement Tuesday following the report’s release, saying that Cuomo was “so quick to be judgmental” when other politicians were accused of sexual harassment.
“If this isn’t a statement of why Cuomo must go, I don’t know what is. There is a long litany of people he has said should have been forced to leave their positions or not be considered for electoral office,” Sliwa said in the statement.
Cuomo has repeatedly denied the accusations of sexual harassment, but several politicians and public figures have called for Cuomo’s resignation, including President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and the nonpartisan watchdog organization Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
More than half of the New York state Assembly members also support starting impeachment proceedings against Cuomo if he does not reign.
The district attorneys of Manhattan, Nassau County, Westchester County and Albany County have all requested materials from James’ report in order to launch their own investigations into Cuomo’s misconduct allegations.
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“Andrew Cuomo’s abuses of power are longstanding and serious. He needs to resign, now,” the organization said in a tweet.
“Andrew Cuomo’s tenure as governor has been marked by repeated ethical failures and abuses of power. He has abused his office multiple times for his own personal gain, from using campaign resources to boost his book sales to giving family members and close contacts preferential access to COVID testing. Now an investigation has shown that he created an environment of harassment and retaliation in which his staff was afraid to come forward about abusive conduct. Cuomo must resign,” CREW said in a statement.
CREW filed a complaint with the New York State Board of Elections against Cuomo back in April, alleging he broke the law by using his campaign to help sell his book.
At least 82 out of the 150 members have either said publicly or to the AP that they favored initiating the process of ousting Cuomo if he dies not quit.
Of those members in favor of starting impeachment proceedings, at least 40 are Democrats.
A simple majority is required to authorize an impeachment trial.
If the Assembly votes to impeach Cuomo, the state Senate could launch an impeachment trial “in weeks,” Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris told the AP.
Gianaris, a Democrat, said the chamber has been preparing for a potential impeachment trial for months.
“We’ll be ready to go if and when the impeachment articles are sent over,” he said. “It could happen very quickly.”
Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance requested materials from New York State District Attorney Letitia James’ report that concluded Cuomo “sexually harassed multiple women and in doing so violated federal and state law.”
“When our office learned yesterday that the Attorney General’s investigation of the Governor’s conduct was complete, our office contacted the Attorney General’s Office to begin requesting investigative materials in their possession pertaining to incidents that occurred in Manhattan,” a spokesperson for Vance told NBC Wednesday.
In a letter to James’ office, Nitin Savur, chief assistant Manhattan district attorney, said that “in order to properly investigate the potential sex crimes,” it was necessary to speak with two of the victims listed in the report.
The district attorneys of Westchester, Nassau and Albany County have also submitted similar requests to James’ office.
“There should be a zero tolerance policy when it comes to sexual harassment & must send a clear message that this behavior is not tolerated,” the tweet said.
However, the governor denied the conclusion of the state attorney general’s report that he sexually harassed at least 11 women in the workplace with “unwanted groping, kissing, hugging and making inappropriate comments.”
While Biden is among the many politicians who called for Cuomo to resign since the release of the state attorney general report, Psaki said that the administration’s goal “is not to hurt the people of New York in the fight against COVID.”
“If he is no longer the governor of New York, which is certainly what the president made clear of is his preference, then we will engage with other people. But we are not going to take steps to hurt the people of New York in the fight against COVID,” Psaki said.
As Cuomo has repeatedly denied the findings of the state attorney general report, the mayor said that the governor is “not the kind of person to hear that he’s done something wrong and he has to pay the consequences for it.”
“He didn’t even hint at an apology or a sense of contrition. He can’t govern anymore. He’s gotta resign,” de Blasio said.
“Beyond the criminal question, the real question is he can’t serve as governor anymore. The legislature has to act quickly and I think they want to settle this once and for all,” he added
“The first job of any elected official is keeping safe the people they serve; it is clear from the appalling findings of the Attorney General’s report, Governor Cuomo failed to do that. We fought for and won the very worker protections that were violated; there must be accountability without exception. Governor Cuomo can no longer lead the state,” said Mario Cilento, President NYS AFL-CIO.
According to the attorney general’s report, Cuomo had the trooper transferred to his security detail after meeting her briefly and proceeded to sexually harass her on multiple occasions.
In the letter, Rocah said that upon review of the report, it was “appropriate” for her office to investigate further to “determine if any of the reported conduct that is alleged to have occurred in Westchester County is criminal in nature.”
Sliwa said that he would give Chris a “thumbs up” if he did so in a public forum.
“Chris has been so synonymous in giving him solace, in giving him counsel,” Sliwa said.
He called on Chris to affirm that his brother “should pay the price” and “there should be consequences for your actions for every man, every woman and especially those who serve the people in public office.”
“All of a sudden, he says ’no, don’t give in to the cancel culture.’ Wasn’t he a leading person, constantly suggesting that people resign, whether they were Republicans or Democrats?” Sliwa said.
“He was an equal opportunity accuser, and now all of a sudden when the accusations are against him, when there is [documented] evidence provided to the attorney general, page after page of evidence, he continues to say that he is the victim and not all those that he abused. So again, it’s a classic example of ‘do as I say, but not as I do,’” he added
“He has sinned against Italian American people by suggesting that all of us hug, kiss, squeeze, perv, grope,” Sliwa said.
“He, above all people, should apologize to Italian Americans for suggesting that that’s part of our culture, part of our family upbringing and part of our DNA,” he added.
Cuomo’s attorney released a statement following the attorney general’s report claiming that the way Cuomo interacts with people “is not gender-based” and “he has hugged or kissed male and female members of his staff.” The statement also included pages of pictures showing other politicians hugging or kissing colleagues.
“The Governor’s conduct in this regard is unremarkable: Democratic and Republican politicians, male and female alike, use handshakes, hugs, and kisses to connect with others,” the statement said.
“He has abused his office multiple times for his own personal gain, from using campaign resources to boost his book sales to giving family members and close contacts preferential access to COVID testing. Now an investigation has shown that he created an environment of harassment and retaliation in which his staff was afraid to come forward about abusive conduct,” the statement said.
This includes 52% of Democrats in the city who believe the governor should rescind his position.
If Cuomo does not decide to resign, and he didn’t indicate he will do so, 59% of New Yorkers think he should be impeached from office. Of the total respondents, 32% believe Cuomo should finish his term through the 2022 gubernatorial election.
“The court of public opinion believes the allegations against Governor Cuomo warrant his removal from office, Dr. Lee M. Miringoff, director of the Marist poll, said in the published findings. “If he does not resign, nearly six in [10] New Yorkers believe he should be impeached. Even if he survives this scandal, his reelection prospects are rock bottom with even his Democratic base deserting him.”
Since Attorney General Letitia James released the conclusive report on Cuomo’s history of sexual harassment, Sliwa has issued several demands for his resignation. The protest led by him today is meant to serve as a wider public call for the governor to rescind his position.
Led by NYC mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, some carried signs bearing phrases such as “Cuomo is not above the law” and “zero tolerance Cuomo.”
Sliwa himself was seen in a picture posted on his campaign Twitter account with a sign for his mayoral bid. It was not immediately clear from the picture how many protestors had gathered.
