Consider This from NPR - A Resistant Gov. Cuomo Could Face Impeachment

Episode Date: August 5, 2021

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is refusing to resign after this week's explosive report from the state's attorney general. It detailed multiple allegations of sexual harassment and assault against Cuomo. Cuomo has categorically denied harassment and groping allegations. And he said that people have "sought to unfairly characterize and weaponize everyday interactions." Multiple high profile politicians have called for Cuomo to step down, including President Biden. Meanwhile, NPR's Brian Mann discusses how Democratic leaders in New York state legislature plan to move forward with impeachment proceedings. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Support for NPR and the following message come from the Kauffman Foundation, providing access to opportunities that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity, regardless of race, gender, or geography. Kauffman.org. Hey, Consider This listeners, before we get to today's episode, just a word of warning. It contains descriptions of sexual harassment and misconduct that may be difficult for some listeners. Charlotte Bennett was an executive assistant to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo last year when she says he cornered her in his office during the workday. The governor asked me if I was sensitive to intimacy. That's Bennett talking to Nora O'Donnell of CBS News back in March.

Bennett says that Cuomo asked her a bunch of really personal questions about her sensitivities around intimacy because he knew that she was a sexual assault survivor. You have been quoted as saying that he also asked you about if you'd ever been with an older man. Yeah. He asked me if age difference mattered. He also explained that he was fine with anyone over 22. And how old are you? 25. Bennett says Cuomo told her that he was lonely, bored, and looking for a girlfriend.

What were you thinking as he's asking you these questions? I thought he's trying to sleep with me. The governor is trying to sleep with me and I'm deeply uncomfortable. Bennett is now one of 11 women who talked to independent investigators and have accused Cuomo of sexual harassment and misconduct. Nine of those women are current or former state employees. The independent investigation has concluded that Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and in doing so violated federal and state law. On Tuesday, after conducting a nearly five-month-long investigation, New York State Attorney General Letitia James released a scathing 165-page report detailing Cuomo's past behavior.

Specifically, the investigation found that Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed current and former New York State employees by engaging in unwelcome and non-consensual touching and making numerous offensive comments of a suggestive and photos that corroborated the stories that these women shared with two outside investigators. I believe women and I believe these 11 women. Consider this. Just a year ago, Andrew Cuomo was widely praised for leading New York through the darkest days of the pandemic. Now, he's facing calls to resign, including from the president of the United States. And if Cuomo doesn't step down, he could be forced to. From NPR, I'm Elsa Chang. It's Thursday, August 5th. Support for this podcast and the following message come from Nature Valley Granola Bars, August 5th. For more, visit TakeInTheOutdoors.com. NPR's Planet Money Summer School is now in session.

Everything you want to know about investing from expert guest professors. New classes every Wednesday till Labor Day in the Planet Money podcast feed. It's Consider This from NPR. On Tuesday, New York State Attorney General Letitia James released a report on the investigation into Governor Andrew Cuomo's alleged pattern of sexual harassment and misconduct. And what this investigation revealed was a disturbing pattern of conduct by the governor of the great state of New York and those who basically did not put in place

any protocols or procedures to protect these young women. Cuomo's lawyer responded with an 85-page rebuttal of the charges, and Cuomo himself released a video responding to the report. First, I want you to know directly from me that I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. He categorically denied harassment and groping, and he said that people have, quote, sought to unfairly characterize and weaponize everyday interactions. I've been making the same gesture in public all my life. I actually learned it from my mother and from my father.

It is meant to convey warmth, nothing more. And he says there are hundreds, if not thousands, of photos of that, quote, exact same gesture. I do it with everyone, black and white, young and old, straight and LGBTQ. He cycled through a slideshow of photos showing him kissing, hugging and touching people in public. Powerful people, friends, strangers, people who I meet on the street. This slideshow, where Cuomo is justifying his actions, has been heavily criticized online and by his accusers. And his propaganda video was not only uncomfortable and inappropriate, but downright weird and unnecessary. He is not trying to do anything other than maintain the power that he has currently. That's Charlotte Bennett again, responding to the video this week on CBS.

Cuomo actually singled Bennett out in that video. There is one complaint that has been made that bothered me most. That was a complaint made by a young woman, Charlotte Bennett, who worked in my office. He went on to say that what he had intended was to help Bennett with her trauma by asking how she was faring. I have heard Charlotte and her lawyer, and I understand what they are saying. But they read into comments that I made and draw inferences that I never meant. They ascribe motives I never had.

And simply put, they heard things that I just didn't say. He's trying to justify himself by making me out to be someone who can't tell the difference between sexual harassment and mentorship. And Bennett said she felt vindicated by the investigation. We have a report. We have the facts. The governor broke federal and state law when he sexually harassed me and current and former staffers. And if he's not willing to step down, then we have a responsibility to act and impeach him. Several of Cuomo's accusers and critics have spoken up now, telling him he should resign. And one of his accusers, Anna Liss, told WNYC reporter Gwyn Hogan that she couldn't even get herself to watch the video. She didn't think it was Cuomo's place to decide how the women he targeted should feel.

It's not up to him to decide whether there was any damage done. His victims spoke up and said, my career was hurt by this behavior. I felt ashamed because of this behavior. I felt targeted. I was one of this behavior. I felt ashamed because of this behavior. I felt targeted. I was one of those women. I certainly paid a price then up until now. Several prominent politicians now, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the president,

have asked Cuomo to step down. What I said was, if the investigation of the Attorney General concluded that the allegations are correct, that back in March that I would recommend he resign. That's what I'm doing today. Cuomo, however, has given absolutely no indication that he will resign. But he could still be forced from office before his term is up next year.

Democratic leaders in the New York state legislature have said that they will move quickly with impeachment proceedings. And to better understand what that impeachment process could look like, NPR's Ari Shapiro spoke to longtime New York politics reporter Brian Mann. To start with the basics, under New York's constitution, do these allegations amount to impeachable offenses? You know, it's interesting, Ari, there really are no standards for what qualifies as an impeachable offense with the New York governor. So this is largely a political question. You know, do these lawmakers believe Cuomo crossed lines that warrant removal from office? The state assembly is going to take this up. And if a simple majority of those lawmakers vote to impeach, the process then moves to a second vote by state senators and judges. If two-thirds of those officials vote to remove Cuomo, he would be stripped of office.

You know, we don't really have a timeline yet, but the process appears to really be accelerating. The chair of the Assembly's Judiciary Committee says he and a group of lawyers are already doing an intensive analysis of that AG report. And as you read through this long report with an eye on possible impeachment, like, what do you see in the investigation and its findings? Any new takeaways? Yeah, it's pretty astonishing, really. This report describes incredibly personal questions posed to these women by Cuomo about their sexual lives. The report describes one bizarre incident where Cuomo allegedly ordered a young woman on his staff to do push-ups while he watched. Documents show some of these 11 women

believed they were being groomed by Cuomo. Interesting here, the documents also show a fight among Cuomo's staff over how to contain these revelations and spin news coverage. These internal emails that we've been looking at show staff members debating whether Cuomo should try to sound contrite about his behavior or whether he should attack these women and media outlets that were raising the allegations. And I should say prosecutors in four New York counties now say they've opened their own probes into Cuomo's alleged misconduct. The office of District Attorney Cyrus Vance in Manhattan released a letter saying his office is asking the state attorney general for more information on what he describes as the unnamed victims of potential sex crimes. Many of the lawmakers who will decide

Cuomo's fate have been his close allies for years. How is that likely to affect the process? You know, until the AG's report was released, there was a sense that a lot of his allies were sticking with Andrew Cuomo and that this impeachment process, which had already begun, was sort of being slow walked in Albany. But as I mentioned, we've seen many of those same allies call for Cuomo to step down. Assembly Speaker Carl Hastie, the Democrat who's really driving this impeachment process, issued this fiercely worded statement saying Cuomo can no longer remain in office, and Hastie himself has promised this process will be swift. New York is such a democratic state. What role, if any, will Republicans play? You know, Republicans have played a role highlighting these allegations against the

governor, but really, Ari, this is a democratic state, and the GOP is pretty powerless here. So this is going to be decided. The fate of Andrew Cuomo will be decided by his fellow Democrats. Does anybody think he can survive this? You know, his support has cratered, but Cuomo is part of one of the country's biggest political dynasties. He became a national figure during the pandemic year with those daily briefings. He's also known as a brutal and really stubborn political fighter who's shown no interest in resigning. So he's in this for a fight, but it's hard to see a path

forward right now for Andrew Cuomo. If he were to resign or get impeached and removed from office, what would happen at that point in the process? Well, the state's lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, would take over as governor through next year's election. Hochul has already broken publicly with the governor and condemned his actions. She's widely viewed as a moderate Democrat from the ballot next year. And one of the top candidates could be Attorney General Letitia James, who produced this devastating report, a former ally of Cuomo herself. She has not said whether she'll run. That's NPR's Brian Mann. You're listening to Consider This from NPR. I'm Elsa Chang.