16 March 2021: President Biden Says Cuomo Should Resign If Sexual Harassment Allegations Are Proven, Still Seems Okay with COVID Nursing Home Deaths

Biden: Cuomo should resign if investigation confirms claims

The Associated Press reports on President Biden's soon-to-air interview with ABC News:

The pressure against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo over sexual harassment allegations reached the White House on Tuesday, with President Joe Biden saying Cuomo should resign if the state attorney general’s investigation confirms the claims against him.

Biden made the remarks in an interview with ABC News that is scheduled to air Wednesday. When asked by anchor George Stephanopoulos whether Cuomo should resign if the investigation confirms the women’s claims, Biden said “yes” and added, “I think he’d probably end up being prosecuted, too.”

President Biden has long been politically allied with Governor Cuomo, where his previous silence has been interpreted as Governor Cuomo continuing to have his unconditional support. By deferring the results of an investigation yet to be conducted, that support is still there, but it's now conditioned on the outcome of the New York state legislature's impeachment investigation.

President Biden knows those kinds of allegations can be difficult for accusers to prove. As the Associated Press reports, he has previously had serious sexual harassment allegations levied against him, and has also faced long running complaints of unwanted touching and other peculiar behaviors.

Biden himself faced a sexual assault allegation by a former member of his staff, Tara Reade, who said he groped and kissed her in the basement of a Capitol Hill office building in 1993. Biden has denied her claims, and multiple current and former Biden staffers have said they have no recollection of such an encounter.

Biden also faced criticism for not respecting personal space as he geared up to run for president, prompting him to release a video in which he promised to be "much more mindful."

The excerpted ABC News interview doesn't give any indication of whether President Biden is okay with Governor Cuomo's multiple COVID nursing home deaths scandals. We'll have to wait for ABC News' interview to air to see if he's still okay with them.