BUFFALO, N.Y. — After more than a week of no public appearances, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo held another of his now familiar COVID briefings on Wednesday afternoon, closing it with an apology.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for whatever pain I caused anyone. I never intended it and I will be the better for this experience,” Governor Cuomo said.
The three-term governor’s unusual public absence came as three women, two of them former state government employees, came forward to accuse Governor Cuomo of sexual harassment, inappropriate behavior, or both.
There have been multiple calls for Governor Cuomo to resign from Republican lawmakers and even some Democrats.
The governor said he had no intension of stepping down, citing among other things the need to complete the state budget and continued attention to the state’s response to the COVID pandemic.
There is now an investigation pending into Governor Cuomo’s behavior, which will be overseen by New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
On the probe, the governor made an appeal to state residents, “I ask the people of this state ... to wait for the facts from the Attorney General’s report before forming an opinion.”
Two of the three accusers said they were unimpressed with Cuomo’s public apology on Wednesday.
Lindsey Boylan, a former advisor to the governor, tweeted, “How can New Yorkers trust you Governor. … If you don’t know when you’ve been inappropriate with your own staff?”
The attorney for one of the accusers, Charlotte Bennett, called Cuomo’s apology “full of falsehoods and inaccurate information.”