The number of influential Democrats calling on the governor of New York to resign continues to increase: Friday, it is the young star of the left wing of Congress, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and the very experienced Jerry Nadler who have demanded the departure of Andrew Cuomo, accused of sexual harassment and touching.
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Six women have since the end of February accused the 63-year-old governor, seen as a hero of the pandemic in 2020. While most are allegations of sexual harassment or inappropriate gestures, the latest accusation, released on Wednesday, appears more serious since a employee accuses him of forcing her hand under her blouse at the end of 2020.
This allegation “is worrying for the safety and the immediate well-being of the personnel of the governor”, estimated Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez known as “AOC”, representative of boroughs of Queens and the Bronx, in a joint statement with another new colleague. Yorker, Jamaal Bowman.
Both recalled that the governor and his advisers had also been implicated, at the end of an investigation by the State Attorney General, of having minimized the toll of COVID-19 in retirement homes in the ‘State.
“We believe these women, we believe the news, we believe the prosecutor, and we believe the 55 elected members of the New York parliament who concluded that Governor Cuomo can no longer lead effectively in the face of all these challenges,” they concluded. in their press release.
Another New York Democrat elected member of the House of Representatives, veteran Jerry Nadler, also said that “the repeated accusations against the governor and the way in which he responded to them, make it impossible for him to continue to govern.”
He “has lost the confidence of New Yorkers” and “must resign,” he added.
The two New York representatives in the Federal Senate – Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand – have refrained from calling for his resignation for the moment, calling to await the results of the investigation launched into these allegations by the state attorney.
The governor has so far ruled out any idea of resigning, but the situation seems increasingly untenable for him.
The New York State Parliament took a first step towards impeachment proceedings on Thursday: the Lower House Judiciary Committee received the green light to launch an investigation that will decide whether to initiate such proceedings .
Such a procedure, unprecedented since 1913, requires a simple majority in the lower house and two-thirds in the upper house.