Connect with us

Published

on

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has resigned following sexual harassment allegations.

In a report last week, Mr Cuomo, a Democrat, was found to have groped, kissed, or made suggestive comments to 11 women in violation of the law, prompting prosecutors to launch a criminal investigation and calls for him to resign or for him to be impeached.

President Joe Biden had called on him to quit in the wake of the report’s publication.

FILE PHOTO: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference, in New York, U.S., May 10, 2021. Mary Altaffer/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Image:
Despite resigning from his post, Mr Cuomo has denied the slew of claims against him

In a televised address, Mr Cuomo denied wrongdoing – but said he accepted “full responsibility” for offending women through what he said had been attempts at being affectionate or humorous.

He said fighting the claims while remaining in office would paralyse state government.

“The best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to government,” Mr Cuomo said during the address, which lasted 20 minutes.

Mr Cuomo’s decision will take effect in two weeks. He would have likely faced impeachment in the state’s legislature.

More on New York

The move falls a spectacular fall from grace a year after Mr Cuomo was widely hailed nationally for his leadership at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

An executive assistant to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has alleged he groped her and kissed her without consent.

He was on his third term as New York governor. His father, Mario Cuomo, was governor in the 1980s and ’90s.

His resignation comes a week after an investigation found he sexually harassed 11 current and former state government employees.

Two lawyers independent of Mr Cuomo’s department spoke to 179 people and found that his administration was a “hostile work environment” that was “rife with fear and information”.

The findings prompted a raft of New York Democrats to call on the governor to quit, including members of Congress and the president.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Last week President Joe Biden said the governor should resign

Speaking at the White House on 4 August, Mr said: “I think he should resign.”

And New York Assembly leader Carl Heastie said that Cuomo had: “Lost the confidence of the assembly democratic majority and he can no longer remain in office.”

State attorney general Letitia James announced the findings of the nearly five-month investigation on last week.

As well as complainants, the investigators spoke to current and former members of the executive chamber, state troopers, and others who had regular interactions with the governor.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

New York governor Andrew Cuomo issued a denial that he had ever touched women inappropriately.

Speaking at a news conference last week, Ms James said: “These interviews and pieces of evidence revealed a deeply disturbing yet clear picture: governor Cuomo sexually harassed current and former state employees in violation of federal and state laws.”

The investigation found that Mr Cuomo and his senior staff endeavoured to retaliate against a former employee who accused him of wrongdoing.

The allegations against Mr Cuomo emerged last year, after multiple claims that he inappropriately touched and sexually harassed women.

One aide, that worked in his office, alleged he groped her breast and another, Lindsay Boylan, said the governor kissed her on the lips and “would go out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs”.

The New York State Assembly is looking into whether there are grounds to impeach the governor – and the attorney general’s report is expected to play a key role in that process.

It has hired its own legal team to look into Mr Cuomo’s conduct, as well as other allegations of wrongdoing that have been levelled against him.

Continue Reading

US

Trump pick Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration to be US attorney general

Published

on

By

Trump pick Matt Gaetz withdraws from consideration to be US attorney general

Donald Trump ally Matt Gaetz has withdrawn his name from consideration to be the next US attorney general.

Mr Gaetz, a controversial pick to be the country’s top legal official, said his selection was “unfairly becoming a distraction” to the transition of Mr Trump’s administration into the White House.

The Florida Republican had faced significant scrutiny over a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl.

He said in a post on the X social media platform: “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as attorney general. Trump’s DOJ (Department of Justice) must be in place and ready on Day 1.

“I remain fully committed to seeing that Donald Trump is the most successful president in history. I will forever be honoured that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”

Mr Trump said in a post on his own social media site, Truth Social, that Mr Gaetz had a “wonderful future”.

“I greatly appreciate the recent efforts of Matt Gaetz in seeking approval to be Attorney General,” he wrote.

More from US

“He was doing very well but, at the same time, did not want to be a distraction for the administration, for which he has much respect.”

Mr Gaetz previously faced a nearly three-year Justice Department investigation into sex trafficking allegations involving a 17-year-old girl, which ended in February 2023 without him facing any criminal charges.

He has always denied the allegations.

He has also been under scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee over wider allegations including sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and accepting improper gifts.

The inquiry was dropped on Wednesday 13 November when Mr Gaetz left Congress – the only forum where the committee has jurisdiction.

The Senate ethics committee is deadlocked on whether their report can be released.

Mr Gaetz’s withdrawal is a blow to Mr Trump’s push to install steadfast loyalists in his incoming administration and the first sign that he could face resistance from members of his own party.

Continue Reading

US

Dad who called 911 for help during break-in killed by Las Vegas police officer

Published

on

By

Dad who called 911 for help during break-in killed by Las Vegas police officer

A 43-year-old man was shot dead by police after calling 911 to report intruders had entered his home in Las Vegas.

Brandon Durham was at home with his 15-year-old daughter when he called the emergency line to report armed intruders were trying to break into his property on 12 November.

Bodycam footage shows Mr Durham struggling with a person over a knife in the moments before he was shot and killed at the scene.

“The loss of life in any type of incident like this is always tragic, and it’s something we take very seriously,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Assistant Sheriff Dori Koren said on Thursday.

The force is investigating the incident.

Mr Durham called 911 to report multiple people were outside shooting at his residence in Las Vegas’ Sunset Park neighbourhood, where he had been staying with his 15-year-old daughter, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reports.

It was one of multiple emergency calls reporting a shooting in the area.

More on Las Vegas

Mr Durham then said someone had managed to get into his home through the front and back doors of the property and he was locking himself in the bathroom, according to a police statement from 14 November, two days after the incident.

Officers reported to the scene at approximately 12:40am and could hear screaming from inside the residence.

One of the officers, Alexander Bookman, kicked open the front door and once inside, saw Mr Durham and another individual, later identified as 31-year-old Alejandra Boudreaux, struggling over a knife in a doorway.

Mr Bookman ordered them to drop the knife and about two seconds later, the officer fired the gun and Mr Durham appeared to be struck, the bodycam footage shows.

Read more from Sky News:
Londoner, 18, held in Dubai for having sex with 17-year-old British girl
Labour’s pugnacious stalwart who pulled no punches

Both Mr Durham and Mr Boudreaux fell to the ground and the officer fired another five shots. Roughly three seconds are believed to have gone by between the first and last shot, NBC reports.

Attempts were made to save the 43-year-old but he died at the scene.

Ms Boudreaux was taken into custody and is facing charges of home invasion with a deadly weapon; assault with a deadly weapon domestic violence; willful or wanton disregard of safety of persons resulting in death; and child abuse, neglect or endangerment.

Continue Reading

US

Homeless man charged in plot to bomb New York Stock Exchange

Published

on

By

Homeless man charged in plot to bomb New York Stock Exchange

A homeless man has been arrested and charged over a plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange.

The 30-year-old man from Florida, Harun Abdul-Malik Yener, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with attempting to use an explosive device to damage or destroy a building used in interstate commerce, having unveiled some of his plans to undercover agents, according to the FBI.

They began investigating Yener in February based on a tip that he was holding “bomb-making schematics” in a storage unit.

Bomb-making sketches, many watches with timers, electronic circuit boards and other electronics that could be used for building explosive devices were found, the FBI said.

It also said he told undercover FBI agents that he wanted to detonate the bomb the week before Thanksgiving and that the stock exchange in lower Manhattan would be a popular site to target, and that doing so “will wake people up”.

An agent also allegedly recorded him saying: “I feel like Bin Laden.”

Read more:
Google could be forced to sell its Chrome browser
US anaesthetist jailed for 190 years for tampering with IV bags

He described how he hoped the bomb would “reboot” the US government, explaining that it would be “like a small nuke went off,” killing everyone inside the building, according to court documents.

The documents also claim he had rewired two-way radios so that they could work as remote triggers for an explosive device and planned to wear a disguise when planting the explosives.

Yener, who had also searched online for things related to bomb-making since 2017, was sacked from his job at a restaurant in Florida last year after his former supervisor said he threatened to “go Parkland shooter in this place”, the FBI added.

He had his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon and will be detained while he awaits a trial.

Continue Reading

Trending