With six women so far coming forward to accuse Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior and alleged cover-ups of nursing home deaths during the earlier days of the pandemic and safety concerns about the newly opened Mario Cuomo Bridge, support for an impeachment inquiry is growing among Albany lawmakers.
Both the Democratic Senate leader, Andrea Stewart-Collins, and the Assembly speaker, Carl E. Heastie, also a Democrat, have called on the governor to resign, and on Thursday State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. threw his support behind Speaker Heastie's call for an impeachment investigation.
“The harrowing and detailed accounts of pervasive sexual harassment and assault at the hands of Governor Cuomo depict egregious abuses of power that have no place in any work environment, especially not in the highest office of the New York State government," Mr. Thiele wrote in a release early Thursday evening. "Further, allegations regarding the cover-up of nursing home deaths and a possible cover-up relating to safety concerns regarding the Mario Cuomo Bridge also raise issues of abuse of power."
In the most recent and most damning in a series of sexual harassment allegations against the governor, an unnamed female aide has claimed that Mr. Cuomo groped her after she was called to his private residence.
The governor has denied all the allegations, but earlier this month said regarding earlier accusations that he had come to understand "that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. It was unintentional, and I truly and deeply apologize for it. I feel awful about it and, frankly, I am embarrassed by it. And that's not easy to say, but that's the truth. But this is what I want you to know, and I want you to know this from me directly. I never touched anyone inappropriately. . . . I never knew at the time that I was making anyone feel uncomfortable."
"This inquiry must be completed thoroughly and expeditiously, in cooperation with the investigation being conducted under the capable authority of the Attorney General, as well as other pending inquiries," Assemblyman Thiele said Thursday. "The brave women that continue to come forward must be given every opportunity to be heard and supported." He added that if the allegations are confirmed, the governor "must be removed from office and face the fullest consequences for his actions.”
