New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who has now been accused of sexual harassment by five women, reportedly made explicitly clear to state leadership the only way he’d no longer be in office amid the growing scandal.
The Associated Press reports that Cuomo told New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D), who has called for his resignation, in a private call on Sunday that the state legislature would have to impeach him if they want him gone.
After the reported call with Stewart-Cousins, the governor gave a press conference in which he declared there was “no way” he was resigning.
“I was elected by the people of the state. I wasn’t elected by politicians,” he said. “I’m not going to resign because of allegations.”
Stewart-Cousins and fellow state leader Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D) have both pushed Cuomo to resign, along with a growing number of rank and file state lawmakers.
“New York is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing the societal, health and economic impacts of it,” Stewart-Cousins asserted in a statement. “We need to govern without daily distraction. For the good of the state Governor Cuomo must resign.”
Heastie agreed with the Senate leader, saying in a statement that “it is time for the Governor to seriously consider whether he can effectively meet the needs of the people of New York.”
Four of Cuomo’s former aides have alleged that the governor sexual harassed them: Ana Liss, Karen Hinton, Charlotte Bennett, and Lindsey Boylan.
A fifth woman named Anna Ruch accused Cuomo of holding her face and kissing her without consent.
