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Andrew Cuomo, who remained governor of New York until this Tuesday, August 24, was stripped of his Emmy after the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, confirmed that he sexually harassed 11 women.
“The International Academy announced today that in light of the New York Attorney General’s report, and Andrew Cuomo’s subsequent resignation as Governor, it is rescinding his special 2020 International Emmy Award,” read a statement from the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
“His name and any reference to his receiving the award will be eliminated from International Academy materials going forward,” it states, referring to the award the governor won in November 2020 for his press conferences on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cuomo is not only saying goodbye to his “prestigious award,” he is also saying goodbye to elected office, leaving behind a deplorable list of scandals, actions and measures that will leave indelible marks for the city.
Sexual harassment scandals, the bankruptcy of thousands of companies, investigations for embezzlement of public funds, and hidden figures of deaths tarnish the administration of a Democratic governor who went on to win an Emmy and who also chaired the National Governors Association.
In his last speech as the Governor of New York, Cuomo blamed the Office of the NY Attorney General, politicians, and even the press for his downfall. However, the facts speak for themselves, revealing how he lost the trust of a population that initially supported him blindly with wrong decisions.
Cuomo’s fall could be described as resounding, for this is a man who won a third term as governor with a 70% approval rating, the same percentage of New Yorkers who years later called for his resignation after it became known that he sexually harassed 11 women in his entourage.
“When the government politicizes accusations and headlines convictions without facts, it undermines the judicial system, and that doesn’t serve women, or men, or society,” Cuomo said in his last message as governor after 10 years in office.
“A firecracker can set off a stampede (…) and the attorney general’s report was designed to be a political firecracker on an explosive issue and it worked. There was a political and media stampede. But the truth will come out eventually, I’m sure,” he said.
But Cuomo’s speech leaves gaps that time will fill in: did he use public resources to publish his book? How far did Cuomo’s sexual harassment go, and what is the actual number of victims? How many businesses closed because of pandemic confinement? Did the governor’s executive orders drive the state’s nursing home deaths?
Sexual Harassment to 11 women
A thorough probe by independent investigators hired by state Attorney General Letitia James concluded that allegations of sexual misconduct against Cuomo were legitimate.
According to the inquiries, the governor sexually harassed several women, including female staff members and former employees.
In addition to James’ report, it was learned that a Cuomo aide filed a criminal complaint against him, which could lead to his arrest if the allegations are confirmed.
The victim, who has not yet been publicly identified, filed the complaint alleging that the governor lured her into a hug, reached under her blouse and fondled one of her breasts at the Executive Mansion in Albany.
Public resources for the publication of his book
Cuomo not only faces allegations of sexual harassment against 11 women in his entourage, but he is also being investigated for allegedly using public resources for the editing and publication of his book.
The former governor of New York received more than a million and a half dollars for the sale of his controversial book American Crisis.
What has been described as serious is that the governor received a million-dollar sum after profiting from the sale of a book that concealed figures about what was happening in nursing homes, and that, in addition, during its edition, he allegedly used state resources for the publication of the book.
Cuomo is currently under investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The governor’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, reportedly attended meetings with potential publishers and helped edit early drafts of the book.
Manipulated number of elderly nursing home fatalities
Adding to the scandal is the scandal over concealing the true number of elderly deaths in nursing homes in the state after ordering nursing homes to take in COVID-19 patients.
Two news reports revealed that the Cuomo administration altered reports on the true number of elderly deaths in nursing homes to hide the high mortality rate, a situation that confirms the statements of his former aide Melisa DeRosa, who confessed that the governor of New York lied with premeditation.
According to the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, DeRosa and two other Cuomo aides allegedly pressured the state Department of Health to modify a report released in early July 2020 to conceal the actual number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.
After the truth came out, the governor went so far as to justify his actions by claiming he did it to prevent then-President Donald Trump from using them to launch politically motivated attacks against him, and further said he had delayed official reporting to Congress because he was in the midst of a federal investigation.
Despite his arguments, Cuomo will now have to deal with investigations against him and even with a criminal complaint that, if confirmed, could put him in jail.
This is how the politician who wanted to become a television star and who also won an Emmy for his communication management in the middle of the pandemic, will now have to face Justice and the repudiation of those who once applauded him.
Sabrina Martín Rondon is a Venezuelan journalist. Her source is politics and economics. She is a specialist in corporate communications and is committed to the task of dismantling the supposed benefits of socialism // Sabrina Martín Rondon es periodista venezolana. Su fuente es la política y economía. Es especialista en comunicaciones corporativas y se ha comprometido con la tarea de desmontar las supuestas bondades del socialismo