Murphy, Coughlin tell Cuomo to resign

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy called for the resignation of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday following an independent investigation that said Cuomo had sexually harassed multiple women, both current and former state employees.

“We are appalled at the findings of the independent investigation by the New York Attorney General,” said Murphy in a joint statement with Govs. Ned Lamont of Connecticut, Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania and Dan McKee of Rhode Island.  “Governor Cuomo should resign from office.”

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin also demanded that Cuomo step down.

A culture, work or otherwise, that promotes anything but zero tolerance for all forms of harassment is unacceptable. Today’s findings are disturbing and make it clear that Governor Cuomo should resign.” 

The statements came hours after President Joe Biden and others said Cuomo should step down.

The 165-page report, released earlier today by New York Attorney General Letitia James, found that Cuomo had built a toxic work environment, had inappropriately touched women, and in once case, had retaliated against a woman who went public with her allegations.

“Upon completion of our independent investigation into allegations of sexual harassment brought against Governor Andrew Cuomo and the surrounding circumstances, we have reached the conclusion that the Governor sexually harassed a number of State employees through unwelcome and unwanted touching, as well as by making numerous offensive and sexually suggestive comments,” the report said.  “We find that such conduct was part of a pattern of behavior that extended to his interactions with others outside of State government.

The report also found that the Cuomo administration’s response to harassment allegations violated internal policies and “constituted unlawful retaliation.”

“We conclude that the culture of fear and intimidation, the normalization of inappropriate comments and interactions, and the poor enforcement of the policies and safeguards, contributed to the sexual harassment, retaliation, and an overall hostile work environment in the Executive Chamber,” the report said.

Cuomo has denied the claims against him.

This story was updated at 9:30 PM with comment from Coughlin.