Seth Wenig/AP
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo refused to resign on Friday, even after a majority of the state’s Democratic congressional delegation called for him to step down amid mounting allegations of sexual harassment and assault and ongoing investigations into his administration’s orchestrated effort to undercount nursing home deaths from the coronavirus.
“Wait for the facts, then you can have an opinion,” Cuomo told reporters in a conference call, expressing confidence that New Yorkers would stand by him once results from the state’s attorney general investigations into both scandals is completed. Cuomo suggested that those calling for him to resign were surrendering to so-called “cancel culture” and at another point, appeared to question the motivations of his accusers.
“People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture, and the truth,” Cuomo said. “Let the review proceed, I am not going to resign.”
“I did not do what has been alleged, period,” he added. “I will not speculate about people’s alleged motives but there are often many motivations for making an allegation and that is why you need to know the facts before you made a decision.” The remark is likely to fuel conspiracy theories that Cuomo’s troubles have somehow been orchestrated by former President Donald Trump, with whom Cuomo regularly butted heads.
The growing calls for his resignation, which rang out in rapid-fire succession earlier on Friday, come on the heels of accusations against the third-term Democrat that, in the last week alone, include groping a female aide and ordering a retaliation campaign against one of his accusers.
