Joe Biden has called for Andrew Cuomo to resign after a sexual harassment probe claimed that he harassed 11 women.

The president told reporters at the White House, per CNBC: "He should resign."

When asked if he could be forcibly removed from his position if he chooses not to resign, the POTUS said: "I understand the state legislature may decide to impeach, I do not know that for a fact."

New York State House Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat, said after the president's remarks that the house is planning to finish its impeachment inquiry into Cuomo quickly.

Watch a full news report about the probe below: 

CNBC reports that in calling for Cuomo's resignation, the president has echoed the sentiment of almost every other major Democratic lawmaker in both Albany and Washington.

State Attorney General Letitia James summarised the report released on Tuesday, August 4, by saying that Cuomo "sexually harassed multiple women, and in doing so violated federal and state law."

Cuomo, however, has denied some of the allegations made against him and claimed that they were mischaracterized or misinterpreted.

The 165-page report into Cuomo's behavior consists of interviews with 179 witnesses as well as a review of tens of thousands of documents.

It found that there was a culture of fear and intimidation in his office, which created a hostile working environment for his staff.

Credit: Alamy / Brazil Photo Press

According to the report, the women who have accused Cuomo of sexual harassment include members of his own staff, members of the public, and other state employees including a state trooper.

Biden's statement that Cuomo should step down echoes what he said in March about the report.

"I think he'll probably end up being prosecuted, too," Biden told ABC News in a March 16 interview of the then unconfirmed allegations against Cuomo.

The White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the office was sending solidarity to all women who "have lived through this type of experience... deserve to be treated with respect and dignity."

"I don't know that anyone could have watched [James' press conference] this morning and not found the allegations to be abhorrent - I know I certainly did," Psaki said.

Featured image credit: Alamy / Newscom

Joe Biden was confronted by a female reporter during a press conference this week after the president said Andrew Cuomo had done "a helluva job" as New York's head of state.

As reported by The Independent, CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins took umbrage with the President's praise of Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Cuomo - who has served for over a decade as the 56th governor of New York - has recently stepped down from his position following allegations of sexual harassment.

The Associated Press reports that Cuomo, 63, resigned from his position a week after an investigation had found that Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women. Cuomo said in a televised address: "The best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing."

However, on August 10, CBS News' Ed O'Keefe asked President Biden how he would "assess [Cuomo's] 10 and a half years as governor of the state".

After clarifying that the question was about Cuomo's run as NY governor and not his personal behavior, Biden said: "Well, he's done a helluva job. He's done a helluva job. Both on access to voting to infrastructure."

Confronting Biden on this answer, CNN's Kaitlan Collins later asked the president: "Can I quickly follow up on your comment on Governor Cuomo. Can you really say he's done a, quote, 'helluva job', if he's accused of sexually harassing women on the job?"

Biden responded by saying: "You asked two different questions. Should he remain as governor is one question. And women should be believed when they make accusations that are able to, on the face of them, make sense, and investigated."

Misstating O'Keefe's original question, Biden then said: "The question is, did he do a good job on infrastructure? That was the question. He did."

After the question was further clarified to be about Cuomo's time as governor in general, Collins questioned Biden over whether or not Cuomo's personal actions could be separated from his professional ones.

"I was asked a specific question,” Biden then adds. "I'm trying to answer specifically."

On Tuesday, following the publishing of the probe into Cuomo's conduct, Biden told reporters that he believed the governor should resign.

Featured image credit: Xinhua / Alamy

In light of the ongoing sexual harassment and assault allegations against men of power in Hollywood, the spotlight has turned to those in politics. People are insisting on taking action against America's current president, Donald Trump, who has been accused of making unwanted advances by kissing and groping multiple women, as well as making vile jests about grabbing them by their genitalia. Trump later claimed his "grab them by the p**sy" comment was “locker room talk", and despite the fact that more than ten women have come forward with stories about the president, the White House has denied everything. The debate is reigniting other stories about former president Bill Clinton, who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Clinton also had several sexual harassment and rape allegations made against him during his run as president, as well as the decades before, and people are demanding that they are properly looked into now that people are finally taking these allegations seriously. And now, to put even more pressure on the now 71-year-old, four new women have just come forward claiming they've been sexually assaulted by the former president. A number of highly placed Democratic Party sources, as well as an official who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations, say these incidents occurred after he left the White House in 2001. The sources gave the explosive information to author Ed Klein, an ex-editor in chief at the New York Times, who has written several books on the Clintons and American politics. Clinton is now facing new charges, and the attorneys representing the women are coordinating their efforts. They've said they are prepared to file four separate lawsuits against Clinton, and are asking for huge payouts in return for their clients' silence. If they're not given the payouts, the women are ready to take their stories to a press conference. The allegations regard incidents which are said to have taken place in the early 2000s - around the time when Clinton was hired by playboy billionaire investor, Ron Burkle, to help him generate business. It's said they frequently flew around the world together on a private jet nicknamed "Air F**k One", with a hoard of beautiful young women. The four women who still remain anonymous were employed by Burkle in low-level positions, and they were in their late teens when allegedly assaulted by the former president. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/thehill/status/932646731262676992]] Clinton's legal team responded to the news by saying: "Obviously, I'm aware of [the allegations] but can't talk about them."

"Bill is distraught at the thought of having to testify and defend himself against sex charges again," said a Democratic Party official, referring to the Lewinsky Scandal of 1998 in which the then 49-year-old President had an extramarital, sexual relationship with 22-year-old White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

He at first denied the affair, before later admitting to having had an inappropriate relationship with Lewinsky. Although consensual, the affair with Lewinsky can still be defined as textbook sexual harassment due to the nature of their power relations as subordinate and person of influence.

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Independent/status/932645276560568320]] Clinton's other alleged sexual assault victims of the past include former Arkansas state employee Paula Jones, who sued Clinton for exposing himself to her when governor in 1991, and White House volunteer Kathleen Willey who said Clinton groped her breasts and forced her to touch his crotch in 1993. Juanita Broaddrick came forward with the most serious allegation of all, saying Clinton raped her in 1978 during his campaign for Arkansas governor.  And despite it all, Hillary and Bill remained married, although the source said: "They haven't lived as man and wife for a number of years, mostly due to Bill's running around with other women". Additionally, they said in light of the current political climate, this time Hillary is furious with her husband for getting caught up in yet another sex scandal. Negotiations between the lawyers and Clinton's legal team are ongoing and are said to have reached a critical stage.

Last week, allegations against Harvey Weinstein reached the press, prompting dozens of women to come forward with complaints about the American film producer. He has so far been accused of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment - but maintains that all encounters he had were consensual. Despite the numerous cases stacked against him, Weinstein has so far not been charged with any criminal offences. And, while he has been fired from his own company and removed from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he seems to have escaped public criticism from many of his peers, with some of them even expressing sympathy for him. Even more astoundingly, some people have actually defended Weinstein, claiming that many of his accusers are lying or exaggerating their stories in order to garner some space in the public eye. But why would somebody think that? Why on earth would a woman risk her career, her respect, and her reputation in order to lie about a horrific violation against her body? The problem is, many believe that women and other victims of assault are fabricating their claims, and that sexually-motivated attacks cannot possibly be that common - but that's because they aren't always reported. As we have seen with the Harvey Weinstein cases, victims of assault often feel ashamed or threatened by the ordeal, and are reluctant to take the incident to the police. Moreover, the fear of having to face the attacker later on in court, of having to re-live the incident over and over again for the benefit of others, and then - after all that - of seeing the instigator walk free, is not worth the risk. In order to demonstrate just how often these sorts of violations happen, actress Alyssa Milano tweeted this: "If you’ve been sexually harassed or assaulted write ‘me too’ as a reply to this tweet." [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/919659438700670976]] Within just a matter of hours, 25,000 people had responded - many of them simply replying with those two words, and others elaborating on their experience. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/AnnaPaquin/status/919661075150159872]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/najwazebian/status/919716293602893825]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/TheNikkiDuBose/status/919706785073709056]] [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/BethMooreLPM/status/919745870635175937]] The sheer magnitude of responses reminded Twitter users that, just because it's not something we talk about, it doesn't mean sexual assault is uncommon. More reassuringly, it also showed people that they are not alone, and that coming forward about such abuse is not something we should have to fear. Along with confessions were messages of encouragement: [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/womensmarch/status/919705604075216896]] Of solidarity: [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Amy_Siskind/status/919682953642496000]] And of requests for a change in attitude: [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/Pappiness/status/919752795280027648]] Gwyneth Paltrow, Angelina Jolie and Cara Delevingne are just a few of those who have come forward with claims against Weinstein. Their accounts - along with others - are reminders of other big names in Hollywood who have been accused of abusing their power and committing acts of sexual abuse against women and/or children; namely Woody Allen, Bill Cosby, and Roman Polanski. Hopefully, the huge amount of responses from women and other victims around the world will reiterate the importance of taking sexual abuse claims seriously, and encourage people to refrain from victim-blanking or shaming. In light of recent events, a spokesperson released this statement on behalf of Harvey Weinstein: "Any allegations of non-consensual sex are unequivocally denied by Mr Weinstein. Mr Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances." Weinstein himself has yet to comment further.

Last week, Nevada lawmaker Lucy Flores wrote an essay for New York magazine The Cut accusing former vice president Joe Biden of touching her inappropriately backstage at a campaign event in 2014.

"I felt him get closer to me from behind," wrote Flores. "He leaned further in and inhaled my hair. I was mortified... He proceeded to plant a big slow kiss on the back of my head. My brain couldn’t process what was happening. I was embarrassed. I was shocked. I was confused... I couldn’t move and I couldn’t say anything. I wanted nothing more than to get Biden away from me."

In response, Biden, who is rumored to be planning a 2020 presidential campaign, issued a statement: "In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort. And not once - never - did I believe I acted inappropriately. If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention."

"I may not recall these moments the same way, and I may be surprised at what I hear," he added. "But we have arrived at an important time when women feel they can and should relate their experiences, and men should pay attention. And I will."

On Monday, former congressional staffer Amy Lappos told the Hartford Courant that Biden rubbed her nose with his nose at a 2009 Greenwich fundraiser. "It wasn't sexual, but he did grab me by the head," she told the publication. "He put his hand around my neck and pulled me in to rub noses with me. When he was pulling me in, I thought he was going to kiss me on the mouth."

On Tuesday, two additional women came forward with allegations of inappropriate touching. Former University of Las Vegas student Caitlyn Caruso told The New York Times that Biden placed his hand on her thigh and hugged her "just a little bit too long" at a 2014 campus event when she was 19.  Meanwhile, writer D.J. Hill told the Times Biden dropped his hand from her her shoulders to her back, making her "very uncomfortable."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1113515882960052224]]

On Wednesday, Biden responded to the allegations in a video posted on Twitter. "I've never thought of politics as cold and antiseptic," he stated. "I've always thought it about connecting with people, as I said, shaking hands, hands on the shoulder, a hug, encouragement, and now, it's all about taking selfies together. You know, social norms have begun to change, they've shifted, and the boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset, and I get it, I get it."

"I hear what they're saying, I understand it, and I'll be much more mindful, that's my responsibility. My responsibility, and I'll meet it," the 76-year-old continued. "I will be more mindful and respectful of people's personal space, and that's a good thing... "I've worked my whole life to empower women. I've worked my whole life to prevent abuse, I've written, and so the idea, that I can't adjust to the fact that personal space is important, more important than it's ever been, is just not thinkable. I will. I will."

[[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/LucyFlores/status/1113555641862217728]]

Hours later, Flores responded to Biden's video, writing, "I'm glad Vice President Joe Biden acknowledges that he made women feel uncomfortable with his unsolicited gestures of encouragement. Given the work he has done on behalf of women, Vice President Biden should be aware of how important it is to take personal responsibility for inappropriate behavior."

"And yet, he hasn't apologized to the women he made uncomfortable," she continued. "Times are changing, yes, but not because once appropriate behavior is now inappropriate, but because women feel empowered to call it what it has always been - a violation of our bodily autonomy by powerful men."

The incidents between Biden and his four accusers were reportedly not captured on camera, as of this writing. However, other images of Biden appearing to inappropriately touch women in public, such as in the above photo, have gone viral as visual representations of his supposedly "creepy" behavior. It must be noted, though, that the woman in the above photo, Stephanie Carter, does not believe Biden was touching her inappropriately.

"Last night, I received a text from a friend letting me know that picture was once again all over Twitter in connection to Lucy Flores’ personal account of a 2014 encounter with Joe Biden," Carter wrote in a post on Medium titled "The #MeToo Story That Wasn’t Me," which was published last Sunday. "The Joe Biden in my picture is a close friend helping someone get through a big day, for which I will always be grateful."

As right-wing trolls gleefully spread misleading images of Joe Biden on the internet, it's important to be cognizant of what's a visual example of inappropriate touching from Biden that some people might find offensive, and what's a literal photo of Biden offending one of his accusers.