President Joe Biden said that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo could face criminal prosecution following an investigation into multiple allegations of sexual misconduct.
Biden sat for an interview with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos on Tuesday night in Darby, Pennsylvania. The full interview is set to air on Wednesday, but the network teased it with a clip on Biden’s response to the allegations against New York’s Democratic governor.
Biden has refrained from calling on Cuomo to resign, instead asserting that the investigation into Cuomo’s conduct, led by New York Attorney General Letisha James, should be allowed to play out. The governor has faced bipartisan calls to resign from dozens of state and federal lawmakers since the first allegation was made public last month.
“I know you said you want the investigation to continue,” Stephanopoulos said. “If the investigation confirms the claims of the women, should he resign?”
“Yes,” Biden responded. “I think he’ll probably end up being prosecuted, too.”
The host pressed Biden on if he thought that Cuomo could be an effective governor after all of the public backlash against him. “Sen. Schumer, Sen. Gillibrand, the majority of the congressional delegation don’t think he can be an effective governor right now. Can he serve effectively?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“Well, that’s a judgment for them to make about their state whether he can be effective,” Biden dodged. “Here’s my position and it’s been my position since I wrote the Violence Against Women Act. A woman should be presumed to be telling the truth and should not be scapegoated and become victimized by her coming forward, number one.”
“But there should be an investigation to determine what she says is true,” Biden added.
EXCLUSIVE: @GStephanopoulos on Gov. Andrew Cuomo: "If the investigation confirms the claims of the women, should he resign?"
"Yes," Pres. Biden says. "I think he'll probably end up being prosecuted, too.” https://t.co/a6qfOJ9Byp pic.twitter.com/EiC63wtnUo
— ABC News (@ABC) March 17, 2021
During a March 12 call with reporters, Cuomo insisted he is not resigning and denied any wrongdoing. As The Daily Wire reported:
“I did not do what has been alleged. Period,” Cuomo said on the call. He went on to say that he will wait for investigations into his conduct to play out so that the “facts” are known.
The governor said that he would not “speculate” on the motivations of those accusing him of sexual harassment before adding that “there are often many motivations for making an allegation and that is why you need to know the facts before you make a decision.”
“Serious allegations should be weighed seriously, right? That’s why they are called serious,” Cuomo said. “Politicians who don’t know a single fact but yet form a conclusion and an opinion are in my opinion reckless and dangerous.”
Cuomo went on to suggest that he was being targeted by opportunists and political enemies and is a victim of “cancel culture.”
“People know the difference between playing politics, bowing to cancel culture and the truth. Let the review proceed. I am not going to resign. I was not elected by the politicians. I was elected by the people. Part of this is I am not part of the political club. And you know what? I’m proud of it,” Cuomo said. He also added that he has been under public scrutiny since he ran his father’s gubernatorial campaign at 23 years old.