Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo expressed remorse for resigning over the sexual harassment allegations in opposition to him — and defiantly claimed that he’s been “vindicated” by the courtroom of public opinion, in accordance with a report Monday.
In an interview final week, Cuomo stated that if he have been in a position to relive occasions, he wouldn’t give up the best way he did whereas going through an all-but-certain impeachment final yr, Bloomberg Information stated.
“I by no means resigned as a result of I stated I did one thing improper. I stated, I’m resigning as a result of I don’t need to be a distraction,” Cuomo stated.
Cuomo, 64, additionally steered that he’d been exonerated by 5 district attorneys who declined to prosecute him over varied accusations — together with allegedly groping an aide in Albany’s Government Mansion — though 4 of the prosecutors stated they discovered his accusers “credible.”
“It seems in a remarkably quick time period that it did turn out to be all bogus. Eleven turned zero,” Cuomo stated.
“In the event you do an sincere abstract, which is what I get from individuals on the road, I've been vindicated.”
Two individuals acquainted with Cuomo’s pondering stated he’s not too long ago expressed a need to re-enter public life however he repeatedly deflected questions on working for workplace once more throughout a Friday interview, Bloomberg stated.
However Cuomo reportedly stays obsessive about Lawyer Normal Letitia James, who he claims basically railroaded him out of workplace by a one-sided, politically motivated investigation that ignored inconsistencies in — and potential ulterior motives behind — his accusers’ accounts.
Cuomo, a Democrat who was state legal professional basic earlier than being elected governor, accused James of “prosecutorial misconduct” and is advocating for a brand new regulation that will penalize such conduct, Bloomberg stated.
Cuomo reportedly described the firing of his youthful brother, Chris Cuomo, from his $6 million-a-year job as a CNN host — over revelations that he secretly labored with Andrew Cuomo’s aides to attempt to stem the sexual harassment scandal — as “collateral injury” from James’ probe and stated it upset him greater than even his personal resignation.
Cuomo additionally accused James of setting again the reason for ladies’s rights, saying her bombshell report — which alleged that he “violated a number of federal and state harassment legal guidelines” — “harm lots of people in a whole lot of alternative ways. And it was a model of ugly politics like I had by no means seen earlier than.”
“I believe what they did right here undermines the MeToo motion and the ladies’s motion and undermines the regulation,” Cuomo stated.
“As a result of if you politicize claims, or trivialize claims, the following lady who has a legit declare goes to get painted with the identical brush.”
In an announcement to Bloomberg, a James spokesperson stated, “Nobody, together with Andrew Cuomo, can dispute the truth that a number of investigations discovered allegations of sexual harassment in opposition to him to be credible.”
“Solely he's guilty for inappropriately touching his personal employees after which quitting so he didn’t should face impeachment,” James’ spokesperson stated.
“His baseless assaults received’t change the truth — Andrew Cuomo is a serial sexual harasser.”
A lawyer for former state financial improvement official Lindsay Boylan — who sparked the scandal by going public with misconduct allegations in opposition to Cuomo — stated the previous governor “ought to simply settle for duty for his actions and transfer on.”
“Two unbiased investigations discovered he sexually harassed a number of ladies. Sufficient is sufficient,” lawyer Julie Gerchik stated.
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