De Blasio calls for N.Y. Gov. Cuomo to resign after latest sexual misconduct allegations

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Thursday called for his fellow Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign after a sixth woman accused him of sexual misconduct.

"It is disgusting to me," de Blasio said during a press conference. "He can no longer serve as governor. It's as simple as that.

"The latest report, and the fact that we can talk about how many people are bringing forward accusations, that it's not one, it's not two, it's not three, it's not four, it's not five, it's six women who have come forward. It's deeply troubling," de Blasio said. "The specific allegation that the governor called an employee of his – someone he had power over – called them to a private place and then sexually assaulted her is absolutely unacceptable."

The mayor, who has repeatedly clashed with the governor, also noted that Cuomo has faced calls for his impeachment over deaths in nursing homes and his alleged attempts to cover them up.

"I think we've seen so many, so many troubling things that have come out just in a matter of weeks starting with the fact that thousands of people died in the nursing homes and we still don't have the truth about that, and their families need and deserve the truth," de Blasio said. "And we know one thing, that there was a purposeful cover-up and that alone is unacceptable and disqualifying He just can't serve as governor anymore."

Anna Ruch, a former Biden 2020 campaign worker, told The New York Times this month that the governor made unwanted sexual advances toward her after they met at a wedding in New York City in 2019.

She also accused Cuomo, 63, of kissing her without her permission, even as she tried to pull away. Ruch said the encounter left her “confused and shocked and embarrassed.”

Another accuser, Charlotte Bennett, a former Cuomo aide, alleges that the governor inquired about her sex life and asked her whether she would be amenable to a relationship with an older man.

And another former aide, Lindsey Boylan, said Cuomo "made inappropriate comments about her appearance, kissed her without her consent at the end of a meeting and once suggested they play strip poker while aboard his state-owned jet," the Associated Press reported.

Three more women have made similar allegations. The latest woman to accuse Cuomo said the governor groped her last year at the Executive Mansion after she had called there to do some work. She said she was alone with the governor in the mansion when he “closed the door and allegedly reached under her blouse and began to fondle her,” a source told the Albany Times Union.

On Thursday, more than 55 Democratic state lawmakers called for Cuomo to resign, and the state Assembly speaker said he would hold a meeting later in the day “on potential paths forward.”

“We have a lieutenant governor who can step in and lead for the remainder of the term, and this is what is best for New Yorkers in this critical time,” the statement reads. “It is time for Governor Cuomo to resign.”