But Cuomo claimed to New York Magazine, in a lengthy article published Friday, that he didn’t want to “drag the state through the mud.”
Cuomo had faced mounting calls for his departure following the release of a report from the state attorney general’s office that concluded he sexually harassed 11 women.
Speaking to the magazine on Friday, Cuomo said he felt as if he’d done “the right thing for the state” with his decision to step down.
“I’m not gonna drag the state through the mud, through a three-month, four-month impeachment, and then win, and have made the State Legislature and the state government look like a ship of fools, when everything I’ve done all my life was for the exact opposite,” he claimed. “I’m not doing that. I feel good. I’m not a martyr. It’s just, I saw the options, option A, option B.”
Per the magazine, Cuomo failed to “cut a deal” to not run for a fourth term in return for not being impeached. The idea was “unequivocally dismissed” by New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D), according to the report.
