Cuomo Claims He's Been 'Vindicated'

He won't rule out another run for office
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2022 3:13 PM CST
Cuomo Isn't Ruling Out Another Run for Office
Then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference at New York's Yankee Stadium, Monday, July 26, 2021.   (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

Just six months after he announced his resignation amid a sexual harassment scandal, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo claims he's been "vindicated"—and he isn't ruling out another run for office. "I never resigned because I said I did something wrong. I said, I’m resigning because I don’t want to be a distraction," the Democrat tells Bloomberg. He says, however, that before he can talk about his political future, he wants to deal with what he calls "prosecutorial misconduct" by state attorney general Letitia James, whose office determined last year that Cuomo had sexually harassed 11 women and retaliated against at least one of them for coming forward.

Multiple district attorneys have decided against trying to prosecute Cuomo, saying that while they find the accusations credible, they have insufficient legal grounds to bring charges. Cuomo argues that this means the allegations were "bogus," despite prosecutors' statements to the contrary. "It turns out in a remarkably short period of time that it did become all bogus. Eleven became zero,” he tells Bloomberg. "If you do an honest summary, which is what I get from people on the street, I have been vindicated." He has claimed James' investigation was politically motivated. The 64-year-old was never impeached, meaning he could still run for office again.

Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that Cuomo—who had lunch with New York City Mayor Eric Adams last week—is working on raising his profile and might be considering running against James for attorney general, though a spokesman for the former governor dismisses that as a "silly rumor." James ended her run for governor in December, saying she has important investigations to continue. A spokesperson for the AG rebutted the "baseless attacks" from Cuomo. "Only he is to blame for inappropriately touching his own staff and then quitting so he didn’t have to face impeachment," the spokesperson said, describing Cuomo as a "serial sexual harasser." (More Andrew Cuomo stories.)

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