NY state Democratic chairman calls for Cuomo to resign

The chairman of the New York State Democrats is calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) to resign following an explosive report from the state attorney general that said he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women.

Chairman Jay Jacobs, in a statement on Wednesday, called the report’s findings “extremely damning and upsetting” before saying it is “with sadness and a measure of regret” that he must ask Cuomo to resign.

“Let me be clear: Our State and its citizens are better off having had Andrew Cuomo as our Governor. It is my hope that the legacy of the progressive change he brought to our people and the renewal of infrastructure he brought to our State will outshine the darkness of this sorry episode. And so, it is with sadness and a measure of regret that I must ask the Governor to resign his office and allow the important work of the State – work that he did so much to advance – to continue,” Jacobs wrote.

New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) announced the findings of her office’s investigation on Tuesday, which determined that Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, some of whom worked in his office, and violated state and federal laws. The report also found that Cuomo and his aides retaliated against a former employee who came forward with her allegations.

Cuomo is refusing to resign despite a wave of prominent Democrats calling on him to step down, including President Biden and the entire New York congressional delegation.

The governor has said he never treated anyone inappropriately.

Four New York district attorneys are now looking into the allegations set forth in the report. Prosecutors in Nassau County and Albany County both said they plan to investigate the claims made that occurred in their jurisdictions.

Jacobs said the facts put forth by James’s team “make clear that there is a preponderance of evidence of both a toxic workplace and actual sexual harassment.”

“I agree with the Attorney General. I believe the women. I believe the allegations. I cannot speak to the Governor’s motivations. What I can say is that the Governor has lost his ability to govern, both practically and morally. The Party and this State will not be well served by a long, protracted removal process designed only to delay what is now, clearly, inevitable,” he wrote.

Jacobs said he refrained from making a public statement regarding Cuomo’s next steps on Tuesday, when a number of top state and federal lawmakers weighed in, “in an effort to effect a positive and expeditious resolution.”

On Wednesday, however, he wrote that “it appears that contrary to what I have advised, the Governor may seek to prolong the current situation.”

He said he called Cuomo to inform him of his decision to issue the statement.