Biden ‘will continue to work’ with Cuomo despite investigation into ‘troubling’ sexual misconduct allegations

Every woman who claims to have been mistreated ‘needs to be treated with dignity and respect,’ White House press secretary says

Joe Biden will continue working with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on the coronavirus pandemic response and other matters, despite finding the recent spate of sexual misconduct allegations against Mr Cuomo “troubling” and “hard to read”.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday told reporters Mr Biden has not spoken with Mr Cuomo directly since accusations of sexual misconduct and hostile workplace behaviour against the governor have surfaced.

“Like everyone who continues to read stories – and new developments seem to happen every day – we find them troubling, the president finds them troubling, hard to read,” Ms Psaki said. “Every woman who steps forward needs to be treated with dignity and respect.”

The New York attorney general is conducting an independent review of Mr Cuomo’s actions, which the Biden administration supports, Ms Psaki indicated on Monday.

“The president believes that [investigation] is appropriate, as does the vice president,” Ms Psaki said.

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“The investigation needs to be both quick and thorough, consistent with how serious these allegations are,” she said.

But Mr Cuomo has dug in his heels, denying wrongdoing and insisting he will not quit his post.

As long as he remains in office, Ms Psaki indicated, the White House will be obligated to work with him to mitigate the impact of Covid on the people in his state.

“Our objective ... here continues to be to get the Covid pandemic under control, and we don't want the people of New York or any state to be impacted negatively,” she said. “We will continue to work with a range of governors, including Governor Cuomo.”

Mr Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi have so far declined to say whether Mr Cuomo should step down as the investigation into multiple accusations of sexual misconduct against him unfolds.

“The governor should look inside his heart – he loves New York – to see if he can govern effectively,” Ms Pelosi said over the weekend. “And that could be one of the considerations that he has.”

On Friday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand joined a New York congressional delegation demanding that the governor step down.

“Due to the multiple, credible sexual harassment and misconduct allegations, it is clear that Governor Cuomo has lost the confidence of his governing partners and the people of New York,” the Empire State senators said in a joint statement.

Despite dozens of prominent Democratic leaders calling for his resignation, Mr Cuomo has insisted he will resist the “cancel culture” that he believes has led to premature calls for his exit.

Earlier this month, he apologised for “making anyone feel uncomfortable” while maintaining that he “never touched anyone inappropriately”.

So far at least a half dozen women have come forward with highly detailed accounts alleging sexual misconduct by the governor. One unnamed individual has also come forward with an accusation of misconduct.

Lindsey Boylan, a former staffer with the Cuomo administration who has accused the governor of sexually harassing her on several occasions, criticised national Democratic leaders such as Mr Biden and Ms Pelosi who have not directly said Mr Cuomo should resign.

“If you are a national leader asked to weigh in on @NYGovCuomo and you do not call for his resignation at this point, you do not care about women’s equality,” Ms Boylan tweeted on Sunday.

Mr Cuomo defended himself in a press conference last week, saying that “there are often many motivations for making an allegation,” seemingly accusing the multiple women of having ulterior motives.