Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said he would step down in 14 days after an investigation concluded he had sexually harassed nearly a dozen women.
In the live press conference, the man who many thought might be President someday insisted that is innocent and is ‘only standing down’ so the government can focus on Covid, rather than focusing on impeaching him.
In his own words:
‘You know me, I am a New Yorker, born and bred, I am a fighter. My instinct is to fight through this controversy because I truly believe it is politically motivated. I believe it is unfair and untruthful and I believe it demonizes behavior that is unsustainable for society. If I could communicate the facts through the frenzy, New Yorkers would understand.
‘But when I took my oath as governor, I became a fighter but I became a fighter for you and it is your best interest that I must serve. This situation, by its current trajectory, will generate months of political and legal controversy. That is what is going to happen. That is how the political wind is blowing. It will consume government, cost taxpayers millions of dollars, it will brutalize people.
‘The State Assembly outlined weeks of process that will then lead to months of litigation. Time and money that government should spend managing COVID, guarding against the Delta variant, reopening up state, fighting gun violence, and saving New York City.
‘All that time would be wasted… government really needs to function today. Government needs to perform. It is a matter of life and death. Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing state government should be doing.
‘I cannot be the cause of that.’
He ended the at times emotional speech saying that in the era of #meToo he ‘didn’t understand the extent to which the line has been redrawn.’
‘In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn.
‘There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate. And I should have. No excuses,’ he said.
He will be replaced by Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul in two weeks.