If Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo thought a Wednesday apology coupled with a firm refusal to resign would defuse the gravest political crisis of his career – they didn't.
In fact, criticism amid earlier calls for his resignation only intensified after the governor said he has no intention of cutting short his third term.
Debra Katz, representing one of the three women accusing Cuomo of sexual harassment, immediately labeled his afternoon news conference "full of falsehoods and inaccurate information."
"My client, Charlotte Bennett, reported his sexually harassing behavior immediately to his chief of staff and chief counsel," Katz said in a statement. "We are confident that they made him aware of her complaint, and we fully expect that the attorney general’s investigation will demonstrate that Cuomo administration officials failed to act on Ms. Bennett’s serious allegations or to ensure that corrective measures were taken, in violation of their legal requirements."
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Bennett, a former gubernatorial assistant in the Capitol, said Cuomo made a series of suggestive remarks that made her feel threatened because he was a powerful superior. Katz said Cuomo's response did not recognize the seriousness of her client's allegations.
"New Yorkers deserve better," she said.
Still, a defiant Cuomo said he is preparing to continue with running state government.
"I'm not going to resign," he said. "I work for the people of the State of New York. They elected me, and I'm going to serve the people of the State of New York."
And he vowed to cooperate with an investigation by state Attorney General Letitia James into the allegations.Â
"I ask the people of this state to wait for the facts from the attorney general before forming an opinion," he said during a briefing in Albany.
Cuomo also said that he has learned an important lesson.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he said about the pain he caused.
He said he is embarrassed by his actions, but that he never touched anyone inappropriately and did not know at the time that he was making anyone uncomfortable.
"I also understand it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter my intent. What matters is if anybody was offended by it – and I could intend no offense – but if they were offended by it, then it was wrong," Cuomo said.
His remarks came as a growing number of lawmakers, including Democrats from downstate – but none from Western New York – call for his resignation following the sexual harassment complaints, as well as over the administration's lack of transparency in reporting nursing home deaths stemming from Covid-19.
In separate New York Times stories, one former state worker said Cuomo kissed her and asked her about playing strip poker. The second former state worker said Cuomo asked her if she "had ever been with an older man." And the third woman accused Cuomo of inappropriately touching her and asking for a kiss at a wedding.
One photo depicts Cuomo at the wedding with his hands on the woman's face, but the governor said that is his customary greeting and he greets legislators that way.Â
"You can find hundreds of pictures of me making the same gesture with hundreds of people, women, men, children," he said. "By the way, it was my father's way of greeting. You're the governor of the state, you want people to feel comfortable, you want to reach out to them."Â
Cuomo said that there is a full plate of state business: the Covid-19 pandemic, recovery and rebuilding, a "teetering New York City," and a terrible financial picture.
"I'm going to do the job that people in the state elected me to," he said.
His refusal to step aside occurs as leaders of the State Legislature plan to strip the governor of the temporary emergency powers granted him last year at the pandemic's outset.
Local Democrats such as Assemblywoman Monica P. Wallace of Lancaster and Sen. Timothy M. Kennedy of Buffalo were reported in session late Wednesday and did not return calls seeking comment. But Republicans such as state Chairman Nicholas A. Langworthy continued to seek Cuomo's removal – if not by resignation than by impeachment.
"He has no shame and is never going to resign that office, and that's why we early on called for his impeachment," Langworthy said following a press event in Syracuse.
The chairman acknowledged Republican efforts to start proceedings to impeach Cuomo face long odds, given their paltry numbers in the Legislature, but continued to offer it as an alternative.
