NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign amid scandal; Kathy Hochul to become governor

ALBANY – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation Tuesday under the weight of a sexual-harassment scandal that engulfed his administration and derailed his political future, capping a remarkable and rapid fall for a governor whose national profile had risen to extraordinary heights during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cuomo, a Democrat, said his resignation will take effect in 14 days, ending a decade-long run in the office he dedicated most of his adult life to keeping within his family — first as an adviser to his father, the late Gov. Mario Cuomo, before winning three terms himself.

"I think that given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to government," Cuomo said in a video address.

"And therefore that's what I'll do, because I work for you and doing the right thing is doing the right thing for you."

With Cuomo stepping down, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul of Buffalo will make history as the first woman to serve as New York governor. She will be sworn in after Cuomo's resignation takes effect and is set to fill out the remainder of his term, which runs through 2022.

More: Who is Kathy Hochul? What to know about NY's first female governor

Cuomo, 63, had defiantly resisted calls for his resignation over the the past five months, a period in which multiple women, including current and former state employees, publicly accused him of inappropriate or harassing behavior in some form.

His administration has also faced extensive criticism for purposefully withholding the true COVID-19 death toll of nursing home residents for months, a decision that has attracted scrutiny from federal prosecutors in Brooklyn.

The most damaging — and ultimately fatal — blow came Aug. 3, when state Attorney General Letitia James' office released a report that found Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women, including nine state employees, violating various state and federal laws along the way.

Among them was an executive assistant, Brittany Commisso, who accused Cuomo of reaching under her blouse and groping her breast during a November 2020 encounter at the Executive Mansion, which Cuomo continues to deny despite the attorney general's report finding the woman's claims "credible."

On Tuesday, Cuomo announced his decision in an on-camera address following a lengthy presentation by his outside attorney, Rita Glavin, who sought to cast doubt on many of his accusers' claims and continued to deny Cuomo had ever touched them inappropriately.

In his address, Cuomo denied the most serious of allegations and claimed James' report was slanted against him. But he acknowledged offending a trail of women with jokes and unwelcomed embraces that he suggested may have crossed a shifting cultural line.

Cuomo said he chose to step down for the good of state government, which has been paralyzed for the past week as he fought for his political life and coronavirus infections surged in New York and the country.

"Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing," Cuomo said.

"And I can’t be the cause of that. New York tough means New York loving. And I love New York and I love you, and everything I have ever done has been motivated by that love and I would never want to be unhelpful in any way."

Cuomo ultimately faced an untenable choice: either step down or face impeachment, which looked increasingly like a fait accompli as more and more state lawmakers called for his ouster.

On Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat whose chamber was moving toward impeaching the governor, said Cuomo's resignation was "the right decision."

"The brave women who stepped forward were heard," he said in a statement. "Everyone deserves to work in a harassment-free environment."

More: Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women in violation of law, AG report finds

Andrew Cuomo's long rise, stunning fall

Andrew Mark Cuomo was first elected governor Nov. 2, 2010, marking a triumphant return to the state Capitol for the Cuomo family after his father served as governor from 1983 through 1994. He failed in his first bid for governor in 2002.

Since taking office in 2011, Cuomo used his unyielding aggression and distaste for bureaucracy to mold himself into the most consequential and powerful figure in New York government, flexing his muscle to push through major projects like the $4 billion Tappan Zee Bridge replacement and policy like the legalization of same-sex marriage.

He teetered between staying true to his moderate Democratic roots and moving more to the left as the party became more progressive, shepherding through a $15 minimum wage law in 2015 and paid family leave a year later.

Most of his tenure came with Republicans in control of the Senate, though he was able to cajole enough of them to support portions of his agenda, including stronger gun-rights laws in 2013 and the same-sex marriage law two years earlier.

In 2020, he rose to his highest level of national fame when his daily, PowerPoint-driven briefings gained an international audience amid the coronavirus pandemic, with many supporters coming to view Cuomo's hands-on approach as counterprogramming to a timid federal response led by then-President Donald Trump.

The televised briefings even won him an International Emmy award, and his popularity soared to a record 70% in polls. In October, he released a book, American Crisis, that recounted his response in the early days of the pandemic and landed on The New York Times Best Sellers List.

The book deal netted him an astounding $5 million from The Crown Publishing Group. But it has since become the subject of an investigation by James, who is examining whether he illegally used state resources to complete the project.

Cuomo's hard-charging style and penchant for threats helped contribute to his demise, alienating state lawmakers who may otherwise have been more willing to stave off potential impeachment proceedings had they viewed the governor as an ally instead of an enemy.

In the end, his downfall was as swift as his rise was long: Cuomo resigned just five months after former aide Lindsey Boylan published an essay detailing his alleged harassing behavior, including a 2018 meeting in which she claims he kissed her on the lips without consent as she left.

Boylan was followed by a number of other women who publicly shared similar stories of a governor who made inappropriate remarks and unwanted advances.

Among them was Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old former aide who said Cuomo asked repeated, invasive questions about her romantic life during one-on-one meetings last May and June, as the state was responding to COVID.

In interviews with the attorney general's investigators, Bennett said the governor asked whether she practiced monogamy and if she had ever been with an older man. Cuomo remarked that he would be comfortable being with a woman in her 20s, she said.

Taken together, Bennett believed Cuomo was propositioning her for sex.

"Without explicitly saying it, he implied to me that I was old enough for him and he was lonely," Bennett, a Westchester County native and Hamilton College graduate, said in an interview with CBS Evening News.

The attorney general's report corroborated the victims' accounts with contemporaneous text messages, notes and interviews with those familiar with the encounters. Glavin, Cuomo's attorney, has repeatedly challenged the strength of the report and challenged its particulars, claiming it to be an attempt to convict Cuomo through the media.

Cuomo continued to deny any significant misbehavior, saying he never touched anyone inappropriately while acknowledging he makes jokes and sometimes asks his staff about their personal lives.

Following the attorney general's report, Cuomo rejected the most serious of claims, saying he did not grope the executive assistant and suggesting some of his aides misinterpreted his remarks as flirtations.

During a direct-to-the-camera address on Aug. 3, he went so far as to play a slideshow of photos of him and other famous politicians kissing and hugging various people, suggesting his behavior was normal.

"I want you to know directly from me that I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances," Cuomo said. "I am 63 years old. I have lived my entire adult life in public view. That is just not who I am and that's not who I have ever been."

On Tuesday, Cuomo acknowledged his behavior could have made some of the women uncomfortable, saying he did not appropriately account for changes in societal norms.

"In my mind, I've never crossed the line with anyone," he said during his speech, which he delivered from his Manhattan office. "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."

More: Cuomo apologizes amid harassment claims: 'I never intended to offend anyone or cause any harm'

More: Here's what Charlotte Bennett told CBS' Norah O'Donnell about Cuomo's behavior

Kathy Hochul to become NY's 57th governor

Cuomo, who was the state's attorney general from 2007 though 2010, becomes the second New York governor to resign amid scandal since the turn of the century, following Eliot Spitzer's abrupt decision to step down in 2008 after his habit of soliciting prostitutes became public.

Hochul, 62, will become New York's 57th governor, breaking a 244-year streak of males holding the state's highest office.

She will also become the first governor to hail from outside New York City and the Hudson Valley since 1922, the final year in office for Gov. Nathan Miller of Cortland County.

In a statement, Hochul said she is prepared to become New York's 57th governor. Her office promised she would be commenting further in the near future.

"I agree with Governor Cuomo's decision to step down," Hochul said in her statement. "It is the right thing to do and in the best interest of New Yorkers."

Hochul was first elected lieutenant governor when Cuomo won a second term in 2014. She replaced Robert Duffy, the former Rochester mayor who was Cuomo's first lieutenant governor and declined to seek re-election.

A Democrat and former Erie County clerk, Hochul served in Congress in 2011 and 2012 after scoring an upset win in a special election following the resignation of Rep. Chris Lee.

She lost her bid for re-election to Chris Collins, who later stepped down after he pleaded guilty to insider trading charges and was later pardoned by Trump.

Hochul is well liked in Albany, and she has dutifully crisscrossed the state to tout the Cuomo's administration's policies.

Now she will inherit immediate challenges: The state is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases as the delta variant spreads, leading to questions over whether the state will attempt to reinstitute a mask mandate or other similar pandemic-era restrictions.

Hochul's elevation to the governor's office was hailed by a number of state and federal officials who said she is well-prepared to become the state's chief executive.

"I have full confidence that Lt Gov. Hochul will establish a professional and capable administration," U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-New York, said in a statement. "I have spoken with Lt Gov. Hochul and look forward to working together to help the people of New York."

With Hochul becoming governor, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers, will take over some of the lieutenant governor's duties until Hochul appoints someone to the role.

"Gov. Hochul is a dedicated leader, and united, we will get the people’s work done," Stewart-Cousins said.

More: Amid increasing calls to resign, Cuomo finds few allies in Albany. How it happened

More: Cuomo chastised states, Trump for obscuring COVID information. Now he's accused of the same

Cuomo remains under investigation

Cuomo and his administration remain the subject of several investigations or inquiries that could continue to spell trouble for him even after his resignation.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares and Sheriff Craig Apple have opened a criminal investigation into Cuomo, while district attorneys in Manhattan, Westchester County, Oswego County and Nassau County have also pledged to examine James' report for possible criminality.

The FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Brooklyn have been investigating Cuomo's administration regarding its counting of nursing home residents who died of COVID-19.

For months, Cuomo and the state Department of Health refused to release the number of nursing home residents who died in hospitals, instead only revealing those who died in the homes themselves. As a result, the true death toll was underrepresented by more than 40% for months.

Cuomo's office retained high-profile defense attorney Elkan Abramowitz to represent the governor and his team during the federal probe.

James's office, meanwhile, is still investigating Cuomo's $5 million book deal, which he struck in the midst of the pandemic. At issue is whether Cuomo used state resources on the book, which is prohibited by law.

"The investigation with respect to the book and whether or not public resources were utilized is ongoing and it's separate and apart from this (sexual harassment) investigation," James said Aug. 3.

Jon Campbell is a New York state government reporter for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at JCAMPBELL1@Gannett.com or on Twitter at @JonCampbellGAN.

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This article originally appeared on New York State Team: NY's Cuomo to resign as governor; Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul to succeed him