FIRST READ

Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued his first remarks on March 3 following three sexual harassment claims by young women.

CUOMO CONFRONTS THE PUBLIC

After several days without a public appearance following sexual harassment allegations and amid growing calls for his resignation, Gov. Andrew Cuomo finally took questions from reporters. He said he would not resign, but offered an apology for any actions that made anyone uncomfortable, saying that it was never his intention. Cuomo added that he often greets people with hugs or kisses, and said that he never touched any inappropriately. He was accused of harassment by two former staffers – Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett – and of making an unwanted advance on a third woman, Anna Ruch, at a wedding. Boylan alleged that Cuomo kissed her on the lips without her consent (a claim Cuomo’s office denied) and Bennett said that Cuomo asked inappropriate questions about her personal life, including whether she would have sex with an older man. Bennett, who was 25 at the time, interpreted this as the governor trying to gauge whether she would sleep with him. Ruch, meanwhile, said that within moments of meeting her for the first time, Cuomo placed his hand on her lower back, cupped her face and kissed her on the cheek. The governor asked that people withhold their judgment until after an independent investigation that state Attorney General Letitia James is spearheading. Initially, Cuomo said that a former federal judge of his choosing would be in charge of reviewing the allegations, but after James and others rejected that proposal, he officially referred the matter to the attorney general’s office. Cuomo’s mea culpa was panned by lawmakers and his

A THOUSAND WORDS

Last week, the third accusation of sexual harassment against Gov. Andrew Cuomo was accompanied by a damning photo showing the governor cupping the face of Anna Ruch, a young woman he met at a wedding. Cuomo has a recognizable mug, but it’s nothing compared to the expression that women everywhere can recognize on Ruch’s face: unnerved alarm at an unwanted advance.

“Just watched the @NYGovCuomo press conference. I take back what I said before, he does deserve an Emmy.”

– Rep. Claudia Tenney, after Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment apology, via Twitter

“If I could, I’d make a citizen’s arrest of the governor.”

– Assembly Member Charles Barron, during floor debate, via Twitter accusers, as calls for his resignation continued to grow. But at least for now, a majority of voters in the state don’t think he should resign, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll, though his approval ratings continue a downward trend after hitting record highs during the pandemic.

MORE ON NURSING HOME COVER-UPS

The hits just kept coming this week for Cuomo. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times both independently reported that members of his administration rewrote parts of a July report on COVID-19 nursing home deaths to reduce the number of nursing home deaths by about 35% from the initial version. The report, put together by officials in the state Health Department, originally included deaths of nursing home residents who died in hospitals or otherwise outside of their adult-care facilities. The administration now says more than 15,000 nursing home residents died of COVID-19, and the tally is much higher than neighboring states. Despite wariness from public health officials who had authored the report and felt confident about the numbers to include them, close Cuomo aides including Melissa DeRosa, Linda Lacewell and Jim Malatras edited