New York Governor Andrew Cuomo appeared at the Javits Center in New York City on Monday where he claims the ‘most COVID-19 vaccines in America’ have been distributed, but he refused to take questions amid growing calls for him to resign.
The embattled governor is facing calls for impeachment from Republicans and calls for him to resign across the board amid allegations of sexual harassment and claims he deliberately covered up the true number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.
He has apologized to the women accusing him of sexual harassment, saying they misinterpreted his form of ‘joking’ around.
But he is refusing to stand down and said last week that he will stay on to do the job he was ‘elected’ to do.
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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo appeared at the Javits Center in New York City on Monday
Cuomo spoke about how many vaccines had been given out at the center, saying more had been done there than anywhere over the weekend. 3.3million in NYC have had their first dose
On Monday, he appeared at the Javits Center – which was supposed to be used as a field hospital during the worst of the pandemic but was never filled – where he said more vaccines had been given out there than anywhere in America this weekend.
The media was not allowed to ask questions during the appearance.
Cuomo was joined at the event by a handful of reverends. More than 3.3millon people across New York City have had their first dose.
It came as Republicans in Albany said they were moving to impeach the Democratic Governor over the two scandals.
‘Every day there is another account that is drawing away from the business of government.
‘New York is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing the societal, health and economic impacts of it. We need to govern without daily distraction.
‘For the good of the state, Governor Cuomo must resign,’ state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said in a statement Sunday.
He was in a jovial mood despite refusing to step down amid growing calls for him to quit
Last week, three women alleged sexual harassment, including two former aides.
One of those women said he forcibly kissed her.
Since then, another two women have come forward with claims – bringing the total to five.
The new woman are Karen Hinton and Ana Liss.
Hinton, his former press secretary, told The Washington Post that at a work event n 2000, he pulled her close to her in a dimly lit hotel room after summoning her there.
She said she pulled away from him but that he pulled her back in towards his body.
She says she then left the room.
Liss alleged in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that Cuomo kissed her hand and asked her repeatedly if she had a boyfriend.
She said she was made to feel like ‘just a skirt.’
‘It’s not appropriate, really, in any setting,’ she said in her interview.
Cuomo’s spokesman Richard Azzopardi said in response to her claims: ‘Reporters and photographers have covered the governor for 14 years watching him kiss men and women and posing for pictures.
‘At the public open-house mansion reception, there are hundreds of people, and he poses for hundreds of pictures.
‘That’s what people in politics do.’
Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay said: ‘There’s been one bombshell after another.’
Andrew Cuomo was handed a seven figure advance for his pandemic memoir – but sales are plummeting in the wake of the dual scandals plaguing the New York governor, according to a report Monday.
His book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic, was widely criticized when it was published in October last year as the virus continued to rage in the state and around the world.
But its publisher, Crown, thought that it had found ‘another political star’, Vanity Fair reports, and shelled out the hefty advance for the book.
Ana Liss, 35, (pictured left) previously served as Cuomo’s policy and operations aide between 2013 and 2015 but claims he subjected her to sexual misconduct during her time in his administration. Karen Hinton (right) claims the governor summoned her to his ‘dimly lit’ hotel room and embraced her after a work event in 2000 before she managed to escape
Charlotte Bennett, 25, worked as an aide for Cuomo. She claims he sexually harassed her and left her ‘terrified’
Anna Ruch, 33, (left) claimed Cuomo behaved inappropriately at a Manhattan wedding in September 2019. Lindsey Boylan, 36, (right) claims Cuomo commented on her appearance inappropriately, kissed her without her consent and went out of his way to touch her on her lower back, arms and leg
Now sales are taking a hit.
A spokesman for BookScan told the outlet: ‘We can confirm that the title’s sales have dropped in the last five weeks, and for context, this is not reflective of a larger market trend.’
Sales of Cuomo’s book, American Crisis, are plummeting
Cuomo, 63, faces a federal investigation into claims of a cover up of the true COVID-19 death toll in nursing homes and an independent investigation into claims of sexual harassment by former aides.
He is said to have been backed into corner with ‘few allies’ to defend him and ‘many people who don’t like him’, according to one political analyst.
On Sunday he remained defiant, vowing not to step down in a call with reporters – despite a growing list of 50 New York lawmakers calling on him to step down or be impeached.
Echoing comments he made in a news conference last week, Cuomo acknowledged he’d made jokes and asked personal questions in an attempt to be collegial and frequently greeted people with hugs and kisses.
He has denied touching anyone inappropriately.
But sources tell the New York Times he is shaken and his fall from grace reminds them of ex-governor Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in 2008 after patronizing a prostitution service.