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“The people of New York should not have confidence in a politician who takes a position without knowing any facts or substance,” he said. “Do I think it is responsible to take a position on a serious allegation before you have any facts? No, I don’t think it is responsible.”
Cuomo has held on to office by arguing that a full investigation of the claims against him will vindicate his behavior, even as he has been evasive about some of the particulars of what may have happened with the women. He avoided a direct question Friday about whether he had what he understood to be a consensual relationship with any of his accusers, saying only that he had “not had a sexual relationship that was inappropriate, period.”
The call for a full fact-finding continues to draw significant support from Democratic leaders, who are again publicly wrestling with the tension between swift accountability for abusive behavior and due process for the accused and accusers.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and President Biden have held back on calling for Cuomo’s resignation, offering statements withholding judgment and supporting an investigation of the governor’s actions. Many women’s groups and survivor organizations, even ones that have also called for Cuomo’s resignation, have joined the chorus of leaders who are focused on an investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James (D).
The disagreements within Democratic leadership represent a marked departure from the quick demands that previously greeted high-profile men accused of wrongdoing. Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was fired from his company three days after actresses accused him of sexual misconduct in 2017. Weeks later, the head of Amazon Studios, Roy Price, resigned days after a producer accused him of propositioning her.
In Washington, the pattern seemed to have solidified. Pelosi sought the resignation of Rep. Ruben Kihuen (D-Nev.) later that year, a day after he was accused of propositioning and touching the leg of a fundraiser for his campaign. (He did not resign, but he did not seek reelection.)
Second thoughts among some Democrats about the resignation of Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), and subsequent allegations, including claims made about Biden’s behavior and accusations against Brett M. Kavanaugh, now a Supreme Court justice, have prompted an evolution in thinking about how to confront such…
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