Cuomo Should Face Criminal Charge, De Blasio Says

New York City NY

04 August, 2021

1:34 PM

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NEW YORK CITY — The fallout from a bombshell sexual harassment probe against Gov. Andrew Cuomo shouldn't just end in the governor's resignation or impeachment, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. De Blasio said Cuomo — his bitter rival who sexually harassed or assaulted 11 women, according to a 165-page report — should face a criminal charge. "If you assault a woman, if you do something against her will sexually, that's criminal," de Blasio said Wednesday on "CBS This Morning. "And the Albany County District Attorney is looking at that and I think he should be charged." Hours after de Blasio's comment, Manhattan prosecutors announced they'll look into accusations Cuomo committed misconduct in Manhattan. The Manhattan D.A. is at least the third prosecutor's office to start investigating Cuomo after Attorney General Letitia James released the misconduct report Tuesday. Westchester County's D.A. said Wednesday she would investigate Cuomo over a state trooper's assertion that the governor tried to kiss her outside his home in Mount Kisco, and Albany County's prosecutor is looking into accusations there. Cuomo denied accusations he harassed or groped women in a pre-taped video and report his office released. But most lawmakers aren't buying Cuomo's denials — from President Joe Biden on down to New York City elected officials, they're calling for his resignation and, if he doesn't step down, removal from office by impeachment. Perhaps the biggest sign of Cuomo's collapsing support was a statement from Jay Jacobs, the state's Democratic party chairman. Jacobs said it appeared Cuomo, rather than resigning, "may seek to prolong the current situation." "The facts presented make clear that there is a preponderance of evidence of both a toxic workplace and actual sexual harassment," Jacobs said. "I agree with the Attorney General. I believe the women. I believe the allegations. I cannot speak to the Governor's motivations. What I can say is that the Governor has lost his ability to govern, both practically and morally. The Party and this State will not be well served by a long, protracted removal process designed only to delay what is now, clearly, inevitable." De Blasio, in appearances after the sexual harassment report's release, lambasted Cuomo's alleged misconduct and character as a person. "When you read this report, 11 women systematically wronged, 11 women confronted by a powerful guy who could crush their career, and their reputation, and he's the kind of guy that everyone assumes would if you crossed him," he said on "CBS This Morning." Cuomo's assertions that he likes to hug people and instances of alleged groping are a generational misunderstanding didn't hold water with de Blasio. "Putting your hand up a woman's shirt and touching their breast is not generational," he said on CBS. "I know plenty of guys who are older who would never in a million years do that. Talking to 20-something-year old women, asking them if they'd date an older guy and then leering at them — this is not acceptable behavior, it's not even close." Find out more about the 165-page report and the accusations outlined here. Patch writer Nick Garber contributed to this report.