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Can Andrew Cuomo be impeached? Internet wants him held accountable for multiple sexual harassment claims

Cuomo said, 'I feel terrible that these people felt uncomfortable, felt hurt, felt pain from the interactions, and I'm embarrassed by it, and I feel bad from it'

After coming under fire over sexual harassment allegations, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo came on record on Wednesday, March 3, to say that he won't be resigning from office. Demands for his resignation escalated over recent sexual harassment allegations after a third woman came forward to allege inappropriate conduct. During his first televised press conference since February 19, 2021, the three-term Democratic governor said that he was "embarrassed" for the "pain I've caused" but that he would not resign.

At the same time, he vowed to extend his cooperation with an investigation led by the state attorney general. During the press conference, he also said that he now realized that his past comments and treatment of two employees and a stranger made them uncomfortable.

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After he gave reporters an update on the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic, Cuomo said, "I never knew at the time that I was making anyone feel uncomfortable. I never, ever meant to offend anyone or hurt anyone or cause anyone pain. I feel terrible that these people felt uncomfortable, felt hurt, felt pain from the interactions, and I'm embarrassed by it, and I feel bad from it."

"I was elected by the people of the state of New York," he said. "I'm not going to resign. I'm going to do the job the people of the state elected me to do." On Saturday, February 27, The New York Times released an account from 25-year-old Charlotte Bennett, who claimed that the governor asked her "questions about her sex life, whether she was monogamous in her relationships and if she had ever had sex with older men".

In her recent essay 'My story of working with Governor Cuomo' published on February 24, 2021, Lindsey Boylan, a former top economic development official, reportedly said that the governor gave her an unsolicited kiss in his office and invited her to play strip poker while on a government plane. Anna Ruch a third woman reportedly said the governor touched her bare lower back and said he wanted to kiss her the first time they met at a wedding in 2019. In an interview with The New York Times, she said she felt "confused and shocked and embarrassed" after the incident. 

"I never touched anyone inappropriately," Cuomo said on March 3. "You can find hundreds of pictures of me making the same gesture with hundreds of people, women, men, children, et cetera," Cuomo said. "You can go find hundreds of pictures of me kissing people, men, women. It is my usual and customary way of greeting... By the way, it was my father's way of greeting people," referring to former governor Mario Cuomo. "You are the governor of the state, you want people to feel comfortable. You reach out to them."

Cuomo resign 

While Cuomo has denied sexually harassing anyone, members of his own party are calling for him to step down. On Monday night, Congresswoman Kathleen Rice, one of the high-profile Democrats in New York, demanded Cuomo's resignation. On social media as well, many want him to give up his position. 

"Today would be a great day for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign," one tweeted, another added, "I'm asking again for cuomo to resign." One more said, "cuomo should resign and we should keep believing survivors simple as that," another tweeted. "Every woman knows exactly what this face means. #CuomoResign," one tweeted while sharing the viral image of Cuomo cupping Ruch's face.

One more said, "@NYGovCuomo how does a 63 year old man, father of three and Governor not know what’s appropriate behavior!? Resign!" Another said, "The only reason @NYGovCuomo is apologizing and is embarrassed is because he got caught. #resign #CuomoResign #relinquishyourpower." One more said, "Impeach Andrew Cuomo. This shouldn't be controversial." One more said, "@andrewcuomo Asks “Don’t Judge Me Until Attorney General’s Report comes out” I Don’t Recall @NYGovCuomo Giving Brett Kavanaugh That Same Courtesy Besides, I’ve heard ALL The Evidence I Need to HEAR About This GOVERNOR KILLING 15,000 Citizens & Obstructing Justice IMPEACH CUOMO."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.