Andrew Cuomo Resurfaces Months After Resignation with New Interview, New Look and Same Criticism of Accusers

The New York attorney general concluded that Cuomo engaged in "unwanted groping, kisses, hugging, and [made] inappropriate comments" with state employees and had "sexually harassed multiple women"

Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo. Photo: Cindy Ord/Getty

Some six months after his sudden downfall was precipitated by an explosive report from the New York attorney general, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo isn't exactly sure what his next move is, but he remains certain about one thing: The report that ousted him, outlining accounts of inappropriate behavior and backed by testimonies from multiple women, is "bogus."

Cuomo resigned in August after mounting sexual misconduct allegations and other controversies, including how the state tracked virus deaths in nursing homes.

He insisted then that any personal misconduct was inadvertent but that he needed to step down as the scandal had become too much of a hindrance on the state.

The formal report by New York Attorney General Letitia James was his undoing. James' findings, issued in August, concluded that Cuomo engaged in "unwanted groping, kisses, hugging, and [made] inappropriate comments" with state employees and had "sexually harassed multiple women."

Cuomo — who became something of a national political star during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to his charismatic daily press conferences — has continually denied the stories in James' 168-page report, which are drawn from hundreds of pages of transcripts from his accusers.

Days after the report was released, Cuomo said he would "step aside and let government get back to governing."

Now six months into life post-resignation, the 64-year-old former governor appears to have a renewed sense of vigor — and, as spotted by the chattering class online, a new look thanks to an unexpected mustache — when it comes to celebrating that he hasn't been charged over any of the allegations.

Speaking to Bloomberg for his first extensive interview since leaving office, the former three-term governor remained cagey about his next steps — but insisted he was confident that his reputation remained intact enough that a future return to politics might not be out of the question.

Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo. Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

Cuomo's confidence seemingly stems from the fact that, since he left office, prosecutors have recently declined to move forward with five cases against him related to the misconduct claims.

In most of the cases, authorities said the behavior the women described wasn't prosecutable under the statutes.

In one instance, a prosecutor said the case would be difficult to prove in court.

Such moves, Cuomo's spokesman has said, buttress his argument that the attorney general was undertaking a "political hit job."

However, authorities stressed, their decisions were not reflections on Cuomo's accusers.

In a statement in January, for example, Albany County District Attorney David Soares said that Cuomo would not be prosecuted on a misdemeanor sex crime charge related to a former aide's claim that he fondled her breast in the state Executive Mansion in 2020.

Soares said that while his office found Cuomo's accuser "cooperative and credible" and her story "deeply troubling," he ultimately didn't feel the case was strong enough to proceed.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Cuomo suggested the lack of charges against him meant that the allegations themselves were "bogus" — because that's what he hears from "people on the street."

"It turns out in a remarkably short period of time that it did become all bogus. Eleven became zero," he said, referring to the number of women who spoke against him. He added, "If you do an honest summary, which is what I get from people on the street, I have been vindicated."

New York Attorney General James (who launched a campaign for governor before ending it to run for her current office again), he contended to Bloomberg, was "politically motivated."

James disputes the idea that the allegations against him were somehow "bogus" or politically motivated.

Cuomo resigned, James said in a statement, because he didn't want to face impeachment.

Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo. Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images

"No one, including Andrew Cuomo, can dispute the fact that multiple investigations found allegations of sexual harassment against him to be credible," James' office said in a statement issued to various media outlets, included New York magazine. "Only he is to blame for inappropriately touching his own staff and then quitting so he didn't have to face impeachment. His baseless attacks won't change the reality — Andrew Cuomo is a serial sexual harasser."

Elsewhere in his remarks to Bloomberg, which were delivered by phone while he was apparently playing pool, Cuomo that he has some regrets about resigning.

"I never resigned because I said I did something wrong," he said. "I said, 'I'm resigning because I don't want to be a distraction.' "

Cuomo did not directly answer when pressed by the outlet on whether he wants to run for office again, though his team has laid groundwork for re-entry into public life, spending some $1 million in campaign cash since leaving office and reportedly mulling when and where he could deliver a public speech.

Cuomo also still retains a team to handle press inquiries and issue statements rebutting James' work and touting decisions not to prosecute the stories he denies.

"I'm still focused on communicating what happened here. Because as a precedent, it has to be exposed," he told Bloomberg. "Vindication is not the reason to run for office."

RELATED VIDEO: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Addresses His Three Daughters in Resignation — 'Your Dad Made Mistakes'

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The former governor also spoke out about others who have lost their jobs in the wake of his own scandal, including his brother, former CNN host Chris Cuomo, and ex-CNN President Jeff Zucker.

Before his firing, Chris was suspended from CNN indefinitely after the New York attorney general's investigation found that he had helped his brother craft his response to the allegations and used his own media sources to try and get information on other women who accused the governor of sexual misconduct. Chris was fired by the network in December.

Zucker, meanwhile, abruptly left his role at the network after failing to disclose a relationship with a colleague.

Speaking to Bloomberg, the former governor said there had been "collateral damage" related to his own resignation.

The report into the accounts of misconduct against him, he said, "hurt a lot of people in a lot of different ways."

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