New York attorney general resigns amid allegations of abuse

Eric Schneiderman.
(Image credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman (D) resigned on Monday night, a few hours after The New Yorker published the accounts of several women who say Schneiderman was physically abusive toward them in romantic relationships.

In a statement, Schneiderman said he "strongly" contested the allegations, adding that while they 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." Not long after the story was published, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) called on Schneiderman to resign. Schneiderman was up for re-election this fall, the only Democrat in the running.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.