Just six months after he resigned from office over sexual harassment allegations, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo appeared to be hinting at a political comeback in remarks at a Brooklyn church on Sunday.
The Democrat made a campaign-like stop at a Brooklyn church on Sunday, delivering a speech condemning “cancel culture.” The public appearance, the first since he left office, came after Cuomo’s campaign launched a television and digital ad campaign with a similar message: He was wrongfully removed from office.
Cuomo quoted the Bible multiple times as he described his trials and then went on the offensive to attack the “political sharks” in Albany who, he said, “smelt blood” and exploited the situation for political gain.
“The actions against me were prosecutorial misconduct,” Cuomo said, repeating a theme he has pushed from the start. “They used cancel culture to effectively nullify an election.”
The Democrat resigned in August, days after an independent investigation found he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women and that he and his aides worked to retaliate against an accuser. On Sunday, Cuomo acknowledged that his behavior was inappropriate, but quickly added that nothing he did broke the law.
“I didn’t realize how quickly perspectives changed,” he said. “I learned a powerful lesson and paid a heavy price for learning that lesson. God is not done with me yet.”
Cuomo hasn’t said he’s running for office, but he’s still sitting on a multimillion-dollar campaign war chest that he could use to fund another run.
Several district attorneys in New York said they found Cuomo’s accusers “credible” but said the available evidence was not strong enough to bring criminal charges against them. Last month, a New York state police officer sued him alleging he caused her severe mental anguish and emotional distress by inappropriately touching her and making suggestive comments. A Cuomo spokesman called the lawsuit “cheap cash extortion.”
Cuomo used his platform Sunday primarily to condemn a climate fueled by social media that he said is growing and dangerous.
“Any accusation can trigger a conviction without facts or due process,” he said. “We are a nation of laws, not a nation of tweets. Woe to us if we allow that to become our new justice system!”
Returning several times to a biblical metaphor of crossing a bridge to describe his journey, Cuomo hinted that he will not be left out of the spotlight.
“The Bible teaches perseverance, it teaches us to get up off the mat,” he said. “My heart was broken but not my spirit. I want to take the energy that might have made me bitter and make us better.”
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