Biden says Cuomo should resign if investigation confirms sexual harassment claims
President Biden said Tuesday that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo should resign if the state attorney general's investigation confirms the claims of the women who have accused the governor of sexual harassment. Mr. Biden also said Cuomo would "probably be prosecuted" if the claims were found to be true.
The president's comments came during an interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos, who asked Mr. Biden whether Cuomo should resign if "the investigation confirms the claims of the women."
"Yes," Mr. Biden replied. "I think he'll probably end up being prosecuted, too."
While lawmakers including New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have called on the governor to resign immediately, Mr. Biden said Sunday that "I think the investigation is underway and we should see what it brings us."
When asked by Stephanopoulos about New York lawmakers' calls for resignation, and their claim that Cuomo cannot serve effectively given the allegations, Mr. Biden said "That's a judgment for them to make."
The interview comes a day after the lawyer for one of Cuomo's accusers, Charlotte Bennett, said her client met with the state attorney general's office for more than four hours and provided over 120 pages of contemporaneous records as part of the investigation.
Bennett, who detailed her allegations against the governor in an interview with "CBS Evening News" earlier this month, has accused Cuomo of asking her inappropriate questions about her sex life and insinuating he wanted to sleep with her. Cuomo is also facing allegations of inappropriate conduct toward six other women.
The governor has denied sexually harassing anyone, but has apologized for comments that made others uncomfortable. His office has pledged to cooperate with the state attorney general's investigation.