Andrew Cuomo

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      Andrew Cuomo resigned amid a wave of scandals. But don’t count him out

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      Andrew Cuomo resigned amid a wave of scandals. But don’t count him outCan the New York governor accused of sexual harassment as well as a Covid cover-up succeed in his comeback campaign? Last summer, the three-term New York governor Andrew Cuomo was considered, in political terms, dead and buried after one of the most spectacular falls from grace in modern US politics.A year earlier, he’d been an empathetic pandemic hero, offering New Yorkers a measure of confidence in the state’s response to the early waves of Covid-19 while the US president, Donald Trump, floundered or blustered his way through daily briefings as the terrifying death toll mounted.But then Cuomo was forced to resign from office, leaving wearing a cloak of scandals ranging from allegations of sexual harassment leveled by 11 women, including a member of his protection detail, to a cover-up of the number of elderly people who died in New York nursing homes from Covid-19.Andrew Cuomo labelled a ‘sick, pathetic man’ by New York attorney generalRead moreYet now – at 64 and out of office – Cuomo is trying to flip the narrative again and claw back his reputation and maybe, just maybe, his political career. “I’m not disappearing,” he told New York magazine last year and he might just mean it.Over the past several weeks, Cuomo has accelerated a campaign of image correction that some believe is a prelude to efforts toward political rehabilitation. With $16m left over in his vacated governorship re-election campaign coffers, he’s got funds to finance the project.At a Brooklyn church last week Cuomo gave his first public speech since leaving office. In an event that looked and felt a lot like old-fashioned retail politicking, Cuomo took aim at those that had brought him down. “The actions against me were prosecutorial misconduct,” the Bible-quoting Cuomo said in the speech. “They used cancel culture to effectively overturn an election.”The speech came after the launch of a digital and television advertising campaign that is blaring the same message: Cuomo is the victim, unfairly driven from office.In America’s topsy-turvy politics, where chaos and division seem common currency on both sides of the political divide, even his critics are loth to count him out.“The country elected Donald Trump, so all bets are off,” said Sonia Ossorio, president of New York City’s National Organization for Women. “It’s the wild, wild west of politics right now across the country. In terms of personal redemption every human being is entitled to seek it.“News coverage focuses on politics as a sport,” Ossorio added “which diverts attention from what matters: keeping our government honest.”The question is, does anyone care besides Cuomo, and perhaps his brother Chris who was fired from CNN for his involvement in his elder sibling’s damage control efforts?“The effort you’re seeing is more focused on a public rehabilitation than pursuit of a specific political audience,” said Evan Nierman, a crisis management expert. “The likelihood that New Yorkers are going to jump back on the Cuomo train after it was derailed in such an explosive fashion is unlikely.“Andrew Cuomo is the kind of person who doesn’t like not being in control. He likes directing things, shaping policy and outcomes, not being on the receiving end of that. So he’s looking for opportunities to influence his own future and take back a measure of control.”Last month, his attorney, Rita Glavin, repeated proclamations of his innocence and challenged an independent report from the state attorney general’s office that concluded “the governor sexually harassed a number of state employees through unwelcome and unwanted touching, as well as by making numerous offensive and sexually suggestive comments.”The central theme of Cuomo’s argument is that the New York attorney general, Letitia James, who announced and later dropped out of a run for governor, was politically motivated. Glavin has said she plans to file a misconduct complaint about James to an attorney grievance committee and has claimed James’s office had “directed an utterly biased investigation”.Four district attorneys looked into bringing charges but declined to do so, each stating carefully that their decision was not based on the credibility of his accusers. A fifth, from the Manhattan district attorney’s office, dropped its inquiry.It’s a crack in the door that Cuomo may believe he can lever open by reinterpreting, with help of the campaign war chest, the conclusions of James’s investigation.The former governor has had conspicuous Manhattan meetings with the former New Jersey governor Chris Christie and New York’s mayor, Eric Adams. Before the largely Black congregation in Brooklyn, Cuomo offered a defiant and angry interpretation of his situation.“God isn’t done with me yet,” he continued. “I am blessed, I have many options in life and I am open to all, but on the question if I am at peace, no I am not. But I don’t want to be at peace, and by the way I don’t think you should be at peace either.”His attorney has put it more simply, telling a radio interviewer that Cuomo is “not going to let this go, because he can’t”.But his efforts provoked a sharp response. “Instead of accepting responsibility, serial sexual harasser Andrew Cuomo continues to challenge the accounts of victims,” read a statement from a group of nine women’s rights and advocacy organizations, including Eleanor’s Legacy, Amplify Her and Women of Color for Progress.Members of the Sexual Harassment Working Group – an Albany-based group of state government employees who have experienced workplace sexual harassment or assault said Cuomo was “using taxpayer dollars to fund his victim-shaming campaign after multiple investigations exposed him for what he truly is: a serial sexual harasser who fostered a toxic, hostile work environment”.The response broadly tallies with public opinion polls. A Sienna College poll published last month found that 52% of Democrats said they believed he sexually harassed multiple women, and said they believed James by a margin of 2-to-1 when she concluded he was a serial sexual harasser. Eighty per cent said he’d made the right decision to resign.“New Yorkers are not ready to forgive and forget when it comes to Cuomo,” said Steven Greenberg, a Siena College pollster.But the former governor, who has also spent $1.8m on legal and public relations expenses that include resisting efforts by an ethics commission to claw back more than $5m he received for a book about his handling of the pandemic, remains set on rehabilitation.He told Bloomberg last month that he had not resigned because he did anything wrong – but because he didn’t want to be a distraction. “I’m still focused on communicating what happened here. Because as a precedent, it has to be exposed.”Nor would he rule out a future run for office.“He’s trying to find a way to remind people of what he thinks they should think about him,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic pollster and former political scientist.Cuomo, he said, was trying to find something that people can feel good about. Against him are voter tendencies against three-term governors and that the accusations against him are “the very things New Yorkers and Americans have problems with”.“He’s got to find a way to explain who he was as governor and make it believable before people will give him the opportunity,” Sheinkopf says. “This is not a guy who dies easily but he’s pretty close to moribund right now.”TopicsAndrew CuomoNew YorkUS politicsnewsReuse this content More

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      Andrew Cuomo labelled a ‘sick, pathetic man’ by New York attorney general

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      Andrew Cuomo labelled a ‘sick, pathetic man’ by New York attorney generalLetitia James launches attack after former governor, who resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, decries cancel culture Andrew Cuomo, who resigned as governor of New York last year over sexual harassment allegations, is a “sick, pathetic man”, the state attorney general said on Sunday in a stinging rebuke.Cuomo had spoken at a Brooklyn church, complaining about cancel culture and the accusations against him and also appearing to hint at a political comeback.Andrew Cuomo ordered to give up $5.1m in pandemic book earningsRead moreLetitia James, whose investigations were part of the three-term governor’s downfall last August after she concluded he sexually harassed 11 women, said: “Serial sexual harasser Andrew Cuomo won’t even spare a house of worship from his lies.“Even though multiple independent investigations found his victims to be credible, Cuomo continues to blame everyone but himself.”The attorney general also said New Yorkers were “ready to move forward from this sick, pathetic man”.Cuomo’s first public appearance since leaving office came a week after his campaign launched a digital and TV ad campaign pushing the message that he was driven from office unfairly.In Brooklyn, Cuomo quoted the Bible as he described his problems but also attacked “political sharks” in Albany, the state capital, who he said “smelled blood”.“The actions against me were prosecutorial misconduct,” Cuomo said. “They used cancel culture to effectively overturn an election.”Cuomo resigned days after being found to have sexually harassed women. It was also found that he and aides worked to retaliate against one accuser.Several district attorneys in New York have said they found Cuomo’s accusers “credible” but available evidence was not strong enough to press criminal charges.Last month, a New York state trooper sued Cuomo, claiming he caused severe mental anguish and emotional distress by touching her inappropriately and making suggestive comments. A Cuomo spokesperson called the suit a “cheap cash extortion”.On Sunday, Cuomo said his behavior was not appropriate but did not violate the law.“I didn’t appreciate how fast the perspectives changed,” he said. “I’ve learned a powerful lesson and paid a very high price for learning that lesson. God isn’t finished with me yet.”Cuomo has not said he is running for office but he is still sitting on a multimillion-dollar campaign war chest he could use to finance another run. He used his speech on Sunday to condemn a social media-fueled climate he said was dangerous.“Any accusation can trigger condemnation without facts or due process,” he said. “We are a nation of laws, not a nation of tweets. Woe unto us if we allow that to become our new justice system.”Cuomo also said: “The Bible teaches perseverance, it teaches us to get off the mat. They broke my heart but they didn’t break my spirit. I want to take the energy that could have made me bitter and make us better.”TopicsAndrew CuomoNew YorkUS politicsDemocratsnewsReuse this content More

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      Chris Cuomo accused of sexual harassment days before CNN fired him

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      Chris Cuomo accused of sexual harassment days before CNN fired himLawyer says accuser came forward after New York’s AG office showed Cuomo took much more active role in helping brother Chris Cuomo was hit with a new allegation of sexual harassment days before CNN announced it was firing him amid an investigation into work he did defending his brother from similar harassment allegations.Chris Cuomo fired by CNN for helping brother Andrew fight sexual misconduct chargesRead moreAn attorney, Debra Katz, said on Sunday her client alleged “serious sexual misconduct” by Cuomo and had contacted CNN about the allegation on Wednesday.CNN suspended Cuomo earlier this week after details emerged about how he assisted his brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, as he faced sexual harassment allegations.CNN officials said “additional information has come to light” when it announced Chris Cuomo’s firing, but did not elaborate.Katz said the accuser decided to come forward after the New York attorney general’s office released evidence showing Cuomo had taken a much more active role than previously thought in strategizing and helping to craft a response to the allegations his brother was facing.When the initial allegations surfaced against Andrew Cuomo, Chris Cuomo told viewers he had “always cared very deeply about these issues”, Katz said.“Hearing the hypocrisy of Chris Cuomo’s on-air words and disgusted by his efforts to try to discredit these women, my client retained counsel to report his serious sexual misconduct against her to CNN,” Katz said in the statement.CNN was reviewing Chris Cuomo’s conduct following the new information. A law firm recommended his firing.“It goes without saying that these decisions are not easy, and there are a lot of complex factors involved,” CNN chief Jeff Zucker wrote in an email to CNN staff on Saturday.Cuomo issued a statement on Twitter, calling the decision disappointing.“This is not how I want my time at CNN to end but I have already told you why and how I helped my brother. So let me now say as disappointing as this is, I could not be more proud of the team at Cuomo Prime Time and the work we did,” he said.The new misconduct allegation comes after a veteran TV executive, Shelley Ross, wrote a column for the New York Times in September saying Chris Cuomo groped her at a party 16 years ago, when they both worked for ABC News.Cuomo told the newspaper: “I apologized to her then, and I meant it.”TopicsAndrew CuomoUS politicsNew YorkCNNnewsReuse this content More

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      Chris Cuomo fired by CNN for helping brother Andrew fight sexual misconduct charges

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      Chris Cuomo fired by CNN for helping brother Andrew fight sexual misconduct chargesPrimetime anchor was suspended on TuesdayNetwork says ‘additional information’ has come to light CNN has fired the primetime anchor Chris Cuomo for trying to help his brother, the former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, fight accusations of sexual misconduct which resulted in his resignation.How Chris and Andrew Cuomo’s on-air comedy routines compromised CNNRead moreAnnouncing the firing on Saturday, CNN said “additional information” had come to light. “Chris Cuomo was suspended earlier this week,” a statement said, “pending further evaluation of new information that came to light about his involvement with his brother’s defense.“We retained a respected law firm to conduct the review and have terminated him effective immediately. While in the process of that review additional information has come to light. Despite the termination, we will investigate as appropriate.”In a statement reported by the New York Times, Cuomo, 51, said: “This is not how I want my time at CNN to end but I have already told you why and how I helped my brother.“So let me now say as disappointing as this is, I could not be more proud of the team at Cuomo Prime Time and the work we did … I owe them all and will miss that group of special people who did really important work.”The CNN anchor tested a policy of not covering his brother in early 2020 when, during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic and with New York hard-hit, the two regularly spoke and joked on air.The scandal which engulfed Andrew Cuomo spread to his younger brother, who acknowledged offering advice when the governor faced the harassment charges that he denied but that ultimately led to his resignation in August.Chris Cuomo was then suspended on Tuesday, after the release of documentation collected during an investigation of Andrew Cuomo by the New York state attorney general, Letitia James.The information released by James showed how Chris Cuomo pressed sources for information on his brother’s accusers, reported to the governor’s staff and was active in helping shape responses to the charges.That information prompted loud calls for CNN to fire Cuomo.Marissa Hoechstetter, a victims’ rights advocate, tweeted: “As a survivor who has trusted CNN with my story, it is deeply disturbing that Chris Cuomo remains employed. “His unethical behavior – plus that of anyone giving him any info in the first place – should be disqualifying for a journalist. If they keep him on, they can’t be trusted.”Charlotte Bennett, an alleged victim of sexual misconduct by Andrew Cuomo, said: “Just like his older brother, Chris Cuomo used his time, network and resources to help smear victims, dig up opposition research, and belittle our credible allegations.“Anything short of firing Chris Cuomo reflects a network lacking both morals and backbone. Does CNN stand by journalistic integrity, or will it simply excuse his actions because Chris Cuomo drives ratings?”On Saturday, CNN took action.TopicsCNNAndrew CuomoUS politicsNew YorkUS televisionTelevision industrynewsReuse this content More

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      From the archive: Cuomo’s demise – Politics Weekly Extra

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      A week after Andrew Cuomo resigned as the governor of the state of New York, Jonathan Freedland revisits a conversation he had with Alexis Grenell back in March. The pair discuss how Cuomo rose to the top, and then fell spectacularly from grace.

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      Follow our Cuomo coverage here Listen to the original episode here Follow all of our latest reporting on what’s happening in Afghanistan Send us your questions and feedback to podcasts@theguardian.com Help support the Guardian by going to gu.com/supportpodcasts More

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      The fall of Andrew Cuomo

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      The New York governor Andrew Cuomo resigned this week after 11 women came forward with sexual harassment claims, ending the career of one of the most prominent politicians in the US

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      Andrew Cuomo, the governor of the state of New York, resigned this week after the publication of a report alleging that he sexually harassed 11 women. Cuomo denies any wrongdoing but after fighting on for a week announced he would step aside on Tuesday. Ed Pilkington, the chief reporter of Guardian US, tells Rachel Humphreys that the move marks the downfall of one of the most powerful figures in the Democratic party. He was instrumental in passing liberal reforms on gay marriage, minimum wage and strengthening laws on sexual harassment. But the release of the report documents another story: of multiple allegations of harassment of women. As previous allies deserted him, up to and including Joe Biden, Cuomo announced his departure but continued to deny all allegations. Now, as he ponders his next move, he faces lawsuits, not just over sexual harassment claims, but over his handling of care homes in the Covid crisis. More

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      Kathy Hochul vows to change ‘toxic’ culture as she waits to become New York governor

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      Kathy HochulKathy Hochul vows to change ‘toxic’ culture as she waits to become New York governor‘I will fight like hell for you,’ says Democrat, who is set to become state’s first female governor Maya Yang and agencyWed 11 Aug 2021 16.53 EDTLast modified on Wed 11 Aug 2021 16.54 EDTKathy Hochul, who is set to become New York’s first female governor after Andrew Cuomo resigned over sexual harassment allegations, has said she will work to change the “toxic” work culture in the state’s top office.“The promise I make to all New Yorkers, right here and right now, I will fight like hell for you every single day, like I’ve always done and always will,” the Democrat who has served as Lieutenant Governor since 2015, but remains an unfamiliar face to many in the city, told a press conference on Wednesday.Hochul, 62, said that she and Cuomo “have not been close – physically or otherwise”.She said there would be no place in her administration for any Cuomo aides who were implicated in unethical behavior by the state attorney general’s investigation into his behavior toward women.“At the end of my term, whenever it ends – no one will ever describe my administration as a toxic work environment,” Hochul said.Cuomo, 63, announced Tuesday that he would quit rather than face a likely impeachment trial after state attorney general Letitia James released a report concluding he sexually harassed 11 women, including one who accused him of groping her breast.Cuomo denies that he touched anyone inappropriately. But he said that with the state still in a pandemic crisis, it was best for him to step aside so the state’s leaders could “get back to governing”.Hochul is set to become the state’s first woman governor in 13 days, when Cuomo’s resignation takes effect. She acknowledged that she was not pleased with the two-week transition period, saying, “It was not what I asked for. However, I’m looking forward to a smooth transition, which he promised,” referring to Cuomo.Hochul has maintained a modest profile as lieutenant governor in a state where Cuomo commanded and dominated the spotlight. Nevertheless, she is a seasoned veteran on retail politics and is said to be well-liked by her colleagues. From 2011 to 2013, Hochul served in Congress representing a Buffalo-area district.“Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will be an extraordinary governor,” Senator Kisten Gilibrand, a New York senator, told reporters at the US Capitol on Tuesday. “She understands the complexities and needs of our state, having been both a congresswoman and having been lieutenant governor for the last several years.”Various district attorneys in New York have been requesting information about the investigation overseen by attorney general Letitia James’ office as they weigh criminal charges against Cuomo. Hochul was asked whether she would consider pardoning Cuomo if charges were brought. “I’m going to tell you right now, I’m talking about my vision for the state of New York. It is far too premature to even have those conversations,” she said.Leaders in the state legislature have yet to say whether they plan on dropping an impeachment investigation that has been ongoing since March, and which had been expected to conclude in the coming weeks.In addition to examining his conduct with women, lawyers hired by the state assembly had been investigating whether the administration manipulated data on Covid-19 deaths in nursing homes and whether Cuomo improperly got help from his staff writing a book about the pandemic.Republicans have urged the Democratic-controlled legislature to go ahead with impeachment, possibly to prevent Cuomo from running for office again.At the press conference, Hochul also acknowledged the growing threat of the Delta variant and urged New Yorkers to unite against the fight against it. “It’s going to take all of us to defeat it,” Hochul said, before acknowledging the need to keep the incoming school populations safe. “It’s going to take all of us working together,” she said.
      Associated Press contributed to this report
      TopicsKathy HochulAndrew CuomoNew YorkUS politicsnewsReuse this content More