Unless you have been living in a cave, you are aware that New York State Attorney General Letita James released a report confirming sexual harassment and retaliation against women working for Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Letitia James, the New York attorney general, unveiled the findings of her office’s sexual harassment inquiry into Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Tuesday, describing the report in stark terms and declaring that “we should believe women.”
As she revealed that two outside investigators found during a five-monthlong inquiry that Mr. Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women, Ms. James said the state had “an obligation to protect women in their workplace.”
That, she concluded, was the most important takeaway of the report, which supported their accusations and provided them in detail.
“I believe women, and I believe these 11 women,” she said at the conclusion of a nearly hourlong news conference Tuesday.
………
Many of Ms. James’s competitors in her election criticized her ties to Mr. Cuomo, raising concerns that she would not investigate allegations of misconduct against him. But in January, Ms. James’s office reported that the governor’s administration had underplayed coronavirus-related deaths of state nursing home residents, undercounting them by the thousands..
James' support for Cuomo in during her election was an artifact of arm twisting by the Governor.
This is why we are seeing aggressive, and aggressively scrupulous investigations of Cuomo: Like many of his allies, her support was never driven by mutual respect or a common ideology, but by a purely political calculus.
One of the facts of New York State politics is that people fear (now past tense) Andrew Cuomo, but they detest him.
Now that he's wounded, multiple district attorneys are investigating him, (the State AG cannot initiate a criminal investigation without authorization from the Governor) the Speaker of the New York State Assembly is openly mooting impeachment, numerous other former allies are distancing themselves, and the New York Times editorial board has called for his immediate resignation.
To be honest, I do not expect Cuomo to resign in the near term, either because he thinks that he can wait this out, or because he intends to use his resignation as a bargaining chip to avoid criminal charges.
As to why everyone is coming out of the woodwork gunning for him now, it's what happens when the mass of the bullied have the opportunity to retaliate against a bully.
- A jock-bully by the name of Timothy (never Tim) was acting up in school in a gym class (not mine class, but my best friend was in the class).
- He did something very wrong, and was given three options, get paddled by the teacher, be sent to the principal and get paddled, or allow his classmates to mete out justice.
- Tim chose door number 3.
- 25 or so middle schoolers surrounded him and gave him a beat down that put him in the hospital, and the gym teacher got fired. (My best friend was quite happy to get his licks in)
What is going on right now is analogous to the beat-down that Timothy got.
In Timothy's case, it was wrong, and should never have happened, though at the time I felt schadenfreude about it. (I was in middle school, which is when most people are the worst people they ever will be)
In Cuomo's case, his comeuppance is long overdue. (Just no beat-downs, OK)
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