Saturday, August 7th, 2021
New York governor under pressure
Cuomo’s lawyers are going on the offensive
Numerous women accuse New York Governor Cuomo of sexual harassment. Several party colleagues are already calling on the Democrats to resign. But Cuomo’s lawyers are not thinking of giving up, they are attacking the responsible investigators.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, under increasing pressure after allegations of sexual harassment, has accused investigators through his lawyers of bias and procedural errors. “There was no open-minded fact search in this case,” said Cuomo’s lawyer Rita Glavin on Friday. “This research was conducted in such a way that a predetermined point of view was supported.” It was not about the search for the truth – “the investigators were prosecutors, judges and juries rolled into one”.
The investigation published by Attorney General Letitia James on Tuesday found that Cuomo had sexually molested former and current employees of the state authorities. Among other things, there were unwanted touches, kisses, hugs and inappropriate comments. In addition, the governor, who has been in office since 2011, created a “hostile working atmosphere” and a “climate of fear” for women.
Cuomo and other parties involved had not received any advance notice that the investigation report was ready, when it would be published and what it said – and thus had no opportunity to react or justify it, complained Glavin. “The governor deserves fair treatment, and that was not the case here. The governor has been ambushed.” In addition, the people accused in the investigation report still do not have the transcripts of the evidence, said lawyer Paul Fishman. “That’s a problem.”
Numerous prominent Republican and Democratic politicians had called for Cuomo’s resignation after the investigation report was published – including US President Joe Biden. New York House Chairman Carl Heastie announced a speedy impeachment trial against Cuomo. In addition, the governor threatens criminal consequences from several regional prosecutors in the state of New York. One of the women concerned also filed a criminal complaint. The sheriff in Albany, the capital of the state of New York, is now checking this ad, numerous US media reported on Friday, citing the authority and lawyers of the woman.
Cuomo rejected the allegations after the report was published on Tuesday via video message and initially did not address a resignation. The governor wanted to comment on the report “soon”, announced attorney Glavin.
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