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During a near half-hour speech at God’s Battalion of Prayer in Brooklyn on Sunday, March 6, Cuomo came out firing as he spoke out after resigning following an investigation into claims of sexual harassment by 11 women, including former staff members and a New York State Police trooper.
Cuomo - who has denied any wrongdoing since New York Attorney General Letitia James’ report was released - continues to call his resignation part of a larger political attack.
“Contrary to what my political opponents would have you believe, nothing I did violated the law or the regulations. I said from the start that I would defend any allegation that anyone wanted to bring, but the political sharks in Albany smelled blood. And then the sharks smell blood, then come,” he said. “And they exploited the situation for their political purpose.”
Cuomo called the months after his resignation “probably the toughest time of (his) life” while saying it was also “probably the first time that I was glad (his) father (former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo) wasn’t here anymore, so he didn't have to see."
“My father, God rest his soul, used to say government is an honorable profession but that politics can be a dirty business,” he said. “Now that is especially true today, when the politics out there is so mean and so extreme, when even the Democratic Party chooses to cancel people that they have a disagreement with.”
The former governor brushed off the sexual harassment allegations and added that he “never sensed that (he) caused anyone discomfort." He also said that he didn’t appreciate how times have changed during his time as a politician.
“My behavior has been the same for 40 years in public life,” he repeated. "But that was actually the problem.
“Because for some people, especially younger people, there’s a new sensitivity. No one ever told me I made them feel uncomfortable,” Cuomo added. I never sensed that I caused anyone discomfort. I was trying to do the exact opposite.
“I’ve been called old-fashioned, out-of-touch, and I’ve been told my behavior was not politically correct or appropriate. I accept that. Social norms evolve and they evolve quickly.”
Following Cuomo’s public appearance, James’ office issued a scathing statement targeting the disgraced former governor.
“Sexual serial harasser Andrew Cuomo won’t even spare a house of worship from his lies,” she said. “Even though multiple independent investigations found his victims to be credible, Cuomo continues to blame everyone but himself.
“Cuomo wasn’t railroaded; he quit so he wouldn’t be impeached. New Yorkers are ready to move forward from this sick, pathetic man.”
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