Andrew Cuomo Resigns as Governor After Explosive Sexual Harassment Report

AP/Mary Altaffer

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned on Tuesday after a damning, wide-ranging report issued by the state’s attorney general last week found that he sexually harassed multiple women, violating state and federal law.

Cuomo said that his resignation will go into effect in 14 days. He will be replaced by Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will become the first woman to govern the state, and will serve until the next gubernatorial elections scheduled for late next year.

In a press conference, the embattled governor remained defiant against the allegations of sexual harassment, claiming that the investigation was biased. “My instinct is to fight through this controversy,” he said, “because I truly believe it is politically motivated.”

But while he denied any wrongdoing, Cuomo acknowledged that the fallout from the scandal left him without any choice but to step down. “Given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is to step aside and let government get back to governing,” he said.

The powerful third-term Democrat had spent the last week railing against the investigation and preparing for a protracted legal fight, sending out his personal attorney to defend his actions, even as evidence emerged that he had used his office to retaliate against his victims. In a recorded video, Cuomo also attempted to characterize himself as an advocate for women, and in Trumpian form, claimed that his actions had been repeatedly misunderstood by his accusers. 

Since the report was released exactly one week ago, Cuomo quickly found himself facing the threat of impeachment after virtually all Democrats in the state, not to mention  President Joe Biden himself, called for his resignation. The White House on Tuesday said that they had not received a heads up on Cuomo’s decision before his televised announcement.

“Our view is that this is a story about these courageous women who came forward, told their stories, shared their stories,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters.

Watch a clip from Cuomo’s announcement:

This is a breaking news post. We’ll update as more information becomes available.

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with The Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

AN IMPORTANT UPDATE

We’re falling behind our online fundraising goals and we can’t sustain coming up short on donations month after month. Perhaps you’ve heard? It is impossibly hard in the news business right now, with layoffs intensifying and fancy new startups and funding going kaput.

The crisis facing journalism and democracy isn’t going away anytime soon. And neither is Mother Jones, our readers, or our unique way of doing in-depth reporting that exists to bring about change.

Which is exactly why, despite the challenges we face, we just took a big gulp and joined forces with The Center for Investigative Reporting, a team of ace journalists who create the amazing podcast and public radio show Reveal.

If you can part with even just a few bucks, please help us pick up the pace of donations. We simply can’t afford to keep falling behind on our fundraising targets month after month.

Editor-in-Chief Clara Jeffery said it well to our team recently, and that team 100 percent includes readers like you who make it all possible: “This is a year to prove that we can pull off this merger, grow our audiences and impact, attract more funding and keep growing. More broadly, it’s a year when the very future of both journalism and democracy is on the line. We have to go for every important story, every reader/listener/viewer, and leave it all on the field. I’m very proud of all the hard work that’s gotten us to this moment, and confident that we can meet it.”

Let’s do this. If you can right now, please support Mother Jones and investigative journalism with an urgently needed donation today.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate