Few politicians have taken as much abuse from Gov. Andrew Cuomo as NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. The hapless mayor quickly became a political punching bag for Albany as rumors of the intense animosity between the mayor and the governor were spurred by repeated clashes, some of which even received national attention (like their sometimes conflicting orders during the early days of the pandemic).
With this in mind, watching Mayor Big Bird lay into his erstwhile tormentor during a Wednesday morning during appearances on MSNBC and CBS was almost cathartic. The mayor didn’t mince words, saying Cuomo should face criminal charges, and should resign immediately.
“If you assault a woman, you do something against her will sexually, that’s criminal,” de Blasio said, when asked on CBS Wednesday morning if the Democratic chief executive should be charged criminally. “The Albany County District Attorney’s looking at that, and I think he should be charged.”
De Blasio is only the latest Democrat to call on Cuomo to step down. The list includes President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (who represents the Empire State) and plenty of others.
Albany DA David Soares confirmed Tuesday evening that his office is working on a criminal investigation involving the allegations laid out in AG Letitia James’ report.
Even if Cuomo manages to hang on to power for a few more weeks, the mayor said that ultimately he would probably be forced to resign “either because of a prosecution, where in he makes some deal around giving up his office, or because an impeachment is imminent.”
The mayor also scoffed at Cuomo’s brazen press conference and his claims that his inappropriate touching was tied to “generational” tendencies (“I’m 63 years old” Cuomo said at one point).
“Putting your hand up a woman’s shirt and touching her breast is not generational,” de Blasio told CBS. “I know plenty of guys who are older who would never in a million years do that…talking to 20-something year-old woman, asking if they’d date an older guy, and then leering at them — this is not acceptable behavior.”
Readers can watch de Blasio on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” below:
Already, the criminal pressure is building. In addition to investigations unfolding in Albany, the DAs for Manhattan and Westchester County have reportedly asked AG Letitia James for evidence related to her office’s report detailing the allegations against Cuomo.
And the CBS News interview is below:
Westchester DA Mimi Rocah told James she plans to conduct an investigation into whether the alleged sexual misconduct by Cuomo that occurred in her jurisdiction was “criminal in nature”. A spokesperson for Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. told NBC News that “When our office learned yesterday that the Attorney General’s investigation of the Governor’s conduct was complete, our office contacted the Attorney General’s Office to begin requesting investigative materials in their possession pertaining to incidents that occurred in Manhattan.”
Already facing three criminal probes and a looming impeachment vote that top Democrats in the State Assembly have promised to carry out “expeditiously”, Cuomo is also losing the confidence of the public (despite his appeals to the political constituencies who have kept him in power for almost three terms).
The latest Marist poll shows 63% of New Yorkers believe Cuomo should step down. And just 12% believe he deserves a fourth term in Albany.
