Democrat New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that Gov. Andrew Cuomo should resign from office and be criminally charged after an investigation found he sexually harassed current and former state employees.
New York Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday announced that investigators determined the Democrat governor created a "hostile work environment for women" by "among other things, engaging in unwelcome and nonconsensual touching."
"The whole thing has been so painful. When you read this report — 11 women systematically wronged, 11 women affronted 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, " de Blasio said on "CBS This Morning."
"And he harassed them, he assaulted them in several cases — it's not even close — and then he has the audacity to say, 'Oh, you know, I like to hug people.’"
Asked if Cuomo should be charged criminally for his actions, de Blasio said "yeah."
"If you assault a woman, you do something against her will sexually, that's criminal," de Blasio said. "And the Albany County district attorney is looking at that and I think he should be charged."
Cuomo, 63, pushed back on the report and has denied doing anything wrong. The governor explained some of the incidents could be attributed to "generational" differences.
De Blasio pooh-poohed that.
"Putting your hand up a woman's shirt and touching their breast is not generational," the mayor said. "I know plenty of guys who are older who would never in a million years do that."
The mayor then said Cuomo’s time in office was nearing its end.
"I absolutely believe he must resign for the good of New York state and our people. If he doesn't, the clamor, which is universal at this point, Democrats and Republicans, saying he's gotta go is going to win the day," de Blaio said. "If he wants to wait for impeachment, he can, but it's coming soon in our state legislature."
President Joe Biden, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have called on Cuomo to resign following the attorney general's report.
Cuomo has claimed the investigation into the allegations was indicative of a "super-heated, if not toxic, political environment," The Hill reported.
"Politics and bias are interwoven throughout every aspect of this situation. One would be naive to think otherwise, and New Yorkers are not naive," Cuomo said Tuesday.
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