United States President Joe Biden says New York Governor Andrew Cuomo should step down and may face prosecution if an ongoing inquiry confirms allegations of sexual harassment against him.
Biden made the remarks during an interview with ABC News scheduled to air Wednesday morning.
"Yes, I think he'll probably end up being prosecuted, too," Biden said, when asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos whether Cuomo should resign if the investigation confirms the women's accusations.
Cuomo is facing allegations that he behaved inappropriately and sexually harassed several women, including many former staffers, who claimed the governor demeaned them using pet nicknames and objectified remarks about their physical appearance, subjecting them to unwanted kisses and touches or asking them about their sex lives, according to The Guardian.
Letitia James, New York State Attorney General, last week named a team of outside legal counsel to spearhead an investigation into claims that the governor harassed women through inappropriate physical contact, including unsolicited kissing, Reuters said.
Biden said that a woman should be "presumed telling the truth and shouldn't be scapegoated and become victimized by her coming forward."
The comments made by the President mark his most direct censure of Cuomo since multiple women made accusations of sexual misconduct against the New York official.
"It takes a lot of courage to come forward so the presumption is it should be taken seriously," the Associated Press quoted Biden as saying. "And it should be investigated, and that's what's underway now," he said.
The sexual harassment probe is in addition to scrutiny that the governor is facing from federal prosecutors who are examining how his administration handled data on COVID-19 outbreaks at nursing homes in New York.
