Hours after The New Yorker published an article featuring four women accusing New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of physical abuse, the state's chief law enforcement officer said he will resign.
Schneiderman, a Democrat, said in a statement Monday evening that he will resign effective at the close of business hours on Tuesday.
It’s been my great honor and privilege to serve as Attorney General for the people of the State of New York. In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me. While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8, 2018.
Two of the women in question spoke on record to The New Yorker , which published their claims against the attorney general on Monday.
Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam say Schneiderman repeatedly hit them, often after drinking, and without their consent.
“All of a sudden, he just slapped me, open handed and with great force, across the face, landing the blow directly onto my ear,” Manning Barish told the publication. “It was horrendous. It just came out of nowhere. My ear was ringing. I lost my balance and fell backward onto the bed. I sprang up, but at this point there was very little room between the bed and him. I got up to try to shove him back, or take a swing, and he pushed me back down. He then used his body weight to hold me down, and he began to choke me. The choking was very hard. It was really bad. I kicked. In every fibre, I felt I was being beaten by a man.”
Selvaratnam says the Democrat warned her he could have her followed or her phones tapped. Both say he threatened to kill them if they broke up with him.
One victim, who chose to remain nameless, says after she rebuffed an overture from Schneiderman, he slapped her in the face. The smack left a mark and lingered in pain the next day.
The Associated Press is identifying the two women who spoke to The New Yorker because they agreed to tell their stories publicly.
Schneiderman has been a lead face in the legal battle against Harvey Weinstein after the movie director's own accusations.
Prior to the announcement of his resignation, a Schneiderman spokesman said he never made any threats. On Twitter, Schneiderman said he engaged in "role-playing and other consensual sexual activity," but did not assault anyone.
In a statement, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he will ask "an appropiate New York district attorney" to investigate the allegations against Schneiderman, but also said "he should resign."
"The New Yorker has published an article on Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, which reports multiple women making serious allegations of assault. No one is above the law, including New York's top legal officer. I will be asking an appropriate New York District Attorney to commence an immediate investigation, and proceed as the facts merit. My personal opinion is that, given the damning pattern of facts and corroboration laid out in the article, I do not believe it is possible for Eric Schneiderman to continue to serve as Attorney General, and for the good of the office, he should resign.
Several officials, including former Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and Rep. Claudia Tenney, echoed the call for Schneiderman's resignation as the report surfaced.
Schneiderman was first elected as New York's attorney general in 2010. He was re-elected in 2014 and was up for re-election this year.
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