On Friday (March 12), more than 30 women accused New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) of sexual harassment or bullying on the same day, after which many, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) and New York Assemblyman AOC, came forward to demand his resignation.
On the same day, New York Magazine released the testimony of Jessica Bakeman, a woman who accused Cuomo of sexual harassment and is now a Politico reporter, who claimed that Cuomo sexually harassed her and often touched her inappropriately, causing her to suffer damage to her dignity.
Another sexual harassment accuser, made public Friday, is a former Cuomo aide known as Kaitlin, who said she first met Cuomo in 2016 at a fundraiser for the lobbying firm she worked for at the Time. She said Cuomo introduced himself on the floor, and when approaching Kaitlin, Cuomo told her he had a feeling she was about to take a job with the state.
“Then he grabbed me in a kind of dancing pose,” Caitlin recalled in the interview. “I was thinking, ‘This is the most incredible interaction of my Life.’ I was like, ‘Don’t touch me,’ and everyone was watching.”
Later that week, Caitlin said she received a call from the governor’s office asking her to interview for a job. Caitlin said she attended the interview and was offered a job. Then, because of the many disturbing encounters, she chose to resign, saying she felt Cuomo’s actions amounted to “verbal and emotional” abuse. He often made accusations about her and suggestive comments about her appearance.
In one particularly disturbing encounter, Caitlin said, she was called into Cuomo’s office to help him find car parts on the shopping site eBay.
“He sat at his desk and set his chair up in a circle,” she told the magazine. “So I stood there in my skirt and heels and had to bend over his computer while he looked at me and I looked up at the car parts.”
On the same day, a group of 30 women interviewees spoke to New York magazine, alleging that they were bullied while working for Cuomo.
Several of the women claimed they were forced to take antidepressants and undergo therapy for the first time in their lives after the atmosphere created by Cuomo and some of his top aides severely damaged their mental health. One plaintiff revealed that she even called a suicide prevention hotline.
Cuomo’s first black speechwriter accused him of “racism” and in one instance complained that Cuomo only hired her to “fill quotas,” which led to her being asked to move to another office.
On Friday afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) joined a majority of New York state Democrats, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), in calling for Cuomo’s resignation amid festering sexual harassment allegations and a scandal over the concealment of nursing Home deaths.
In a joint statement, Schumer and Senator Gillibrand said, “We need firm and steady leadership as we face and overcome the crisis of the Epidemic. We applaud the courageous actions of those individuals who have made serious allegations of abuse and misconduct.” “As a result of multiple, credible allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct, it is clear that Governor Cuomo has lost the trust of his governing partners and the people of New York. Governor Cuomo should resign.”
On Friday, 16 members of New York’s 19-member Democratic House delegation said Cuomo must resign, saying the allegations hinder his ability to effectively manage and serve the people of New York.
New York Assemblywoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, AOC, and Assemblyman Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., said they reached a consensus with others “to conclude that Governor Cuomo can no longer be effective in the face of so many challenges to to lead New York.”
Cuomo, who has so far repeatedly announced his refusal to resign, said Friday, “The people have known me for 40 years. I’ve been elected attorney general and governor three times, and my entire life has been in the public eye.”
“My whole life, from the age of 23, I’ve been under public scrutiny. New Yorkers know me. I will focus on my job because we have real challenges ahead of us. I will avoid distractions and instead focus on my work – I must rebuild the country,” he said.
Reuters noted that Cuomo and his daughter Maryah were photographed walking around outside the governor’s official residence in Albany on Friday night looking nervous after a slew of allegations surfaced. Cuomo was on the phone while sipping Saratoga Springs water and throwing a blanket over his shoulders.
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