senators in their weekly lunch meetings as the democrats joined virtually by president biden today and when they returned 2:15 they will vote on the confirmation of rhode island governor gina romano for commerce secretary and whether to limit debate on dean's is a wealth for chair of the white house council of economic advisers area several senators talked about the nearly $2 trillion house passed release bill. brought up on the senate floor tomorrow. you can find live coverage here on c-span2 when senators gavel back in in about 45 minutes. >> the accounting of that third allegation from a woman named anna was talking about events that took place. a photo is available in the story at the new york times website but here's a bit of theaccount saying she recalled mister cuomo moving his hand to the small of her back exposing an open back dressed in moments of them being introduced and shaking

hands . ruth said that touch on her skin discomfited her. i probably removed his hand with my hand which i would have thought was a clear enough indicator i was not wanting him to touch me. then mistress said mister cuomo was aggressive and placed his hand on her cheek and said can i kiss you , she said i felt so uncomfortable when really hewas the one that should have been embarrassed . in a series of photographs using his cell phone also d adding it's the active impunity that strikes me, i didn't have a choice in the matter and that's what hai'm. about and even what i could do removing his hand from my lower back even doing that would not have been clear enough. that's the thstory as of late today at the new york times, two other claims as well coming from former aide charlotte bennett previously and before that lindsay bolin and the various newspapers accounts. these prompted several actions from members of congress, the post highlights that it's the democratic

representative from new york kathleen rice saying she's becoming the first member of congress to call on governor cuomo to resign after a third woman came forward with the accusations area the time has come, the governor must resign rights the representative from long island on twitter. in response to the new accusation, this as other lawmakers including state senator gustavo rivera and assemblywoman jessica gonzales all called in for cuomo to step down. if you go over to that set aside more calls for investigation of this matter with two of those democratic senators weighing in on this topic saying it was on sunday that the senators echoed state attorney general ketricia davis's call that she should be given the power to investigate the accusations of sexual harassment against the stgovernor rejecting the governor's bid to appoint an independent lawyer to look into claims about the women that worked at his office and

statements from sunday, senator joe legrand democrat of new york all for the full investigative power to begin to james area these allegations are serious and concerning she said sunday as requested by the attorney general the matter should be referred to our office so that she can conduct a transparent and atthorough investigation withsubpoena power . this also is echoed by chuck schumer the majority leader also saying he backed james call at her office be thelead investigator . and adding to the mix of people calling for investigation the speaker of the house nancy pelosi who put out her own statement on this pain the women have come forward with serious and credible charges against governor cuomo deserve to be heard. treated with dignity. the investigation must hold due process and expect respect for everybody involved so that some of the reaction from capitol hill.t we have reactions from you if you wish to comment, let us know your thoughts. if you want to use the phone lines 202-748-8000 democrats,

202-748-8000 one for republicans and independents 202748 8002. if you are a resident of the state and you want to give your comments there you can call us at 202-748-8000 three. use that number to text us your thoughts this morning as well. twitter available at c-span wj and on the post if you want to post there as well facebook.com/c-span. james, what do you think about these allegations against new york's governor ? >> caller: thanks for the forward that you guys are, very good. >> host: what do you think about these claims against the governor. >> caller: i think it's another case of double standards. the democrats are the first ones to get rid of these guys if this is what the case is but with the republicans,

what happens all the time is that these guys get passes. how many -- >> host: you're going to have to keep talking and notlisten to the television . >> host: go ahead and finish your thought. >> caller: how many times did trump get himself allegations and nothing gets said or done about this? and it's just, it's terrible what happened i think and if he's got to go, he's got to go but that's the right thing but s with the republicans, nobody ever goes. it's as much of a sewer as it etcan ever be and they just keep getting worse. >> host: will hear from a resident of new york, this is tyrone, a democrat from new york, good morning.

>> caller: i'm a democrat and i definitely think i enjoy what cuomo has done with the pandemic and i'm happy that the democratic callers are not calling and saying it's the news and that the senior citizens didn't die and that there were six actors, that a lot of people made up excuses for what the previous president did. >> host: about the sexual harassment charges against the governor, what do you think. >> caller: those things need to be looked into and if this is a pattern and something he's been doing, he needs to go and i think that he had the numbers on the deaths of these people, he needs to go. we don't need somebody in office that is going to cover up and abuses power to take advantage of these women. we don't need that.

we need to get away from this whole hierarchy where they use their power to misuse other people. if you get wrong, you need to be dealt with is the way i see it. >> host: that's a new york resident and for those new f york residents out there, 748-8000 three is how you do that . dave of georgia, republican line. >> caller: i like what's going on now, i wonder whatever happened to hunter ? can't we get one thing done at a time to mark or has this replaced the hunter investigation. >> host: this investigation against the new york governor , what do you think about that. >> caller: one thing at a time would be nice. but that's my definition of new york, it's a one-party statelike a lot of states around here .

i'm originally from the washington state, that's a one-party state also and the whole northwest. >> host: to the charges against the governor what do you think riyadh . >> i think he should go. that's all. >> host: that steve involve us in georgia getting his thoughts. we got three lines that you can call and four if you're a resident of new york. i the line that best represents you and you can also reach out on our social media like to . give us a perspective on the investigations aspects of this joining us is from the usa today network joseph schechter, he is their government and politics editor from new york and albany, thanks for joining us . >> talk about the next steps now. it might have claimed exactly what is the attorney general's office involving itself in that was the debate on sunday. was it would investigate governor andrew cuomo for the three women who have sexual harassment charges against him. that was indicative of the

problems in the state government in new york. there isn't a true independent body to investigate claims of sexual harassment or ethics. it's a choice admission on public epics that new york has that commission has long been compromised and to hold to governor andrew cuomo and lawmakers so to make a long story short, ultimately cuomo acquiesced to allow attorney general edtish james to hire a special prosecutor essentially, a private attorney to investigate those claims and come back with reports and findings probably in the near-term to the next weeks or months or more . >> what's the governor's ability to withhold or at least going forward in light of the investigation anything to do with his job? >> is a big job because you're dealing with, we're still amid the pandemic here. new york is still trying to

bolster its rollout of the vaccines and it's just goes to cuomo's compromised situation. as you mentioned. yesterday was the one year anniversary of the first covid case in new york and governor andrew cuomo held over 100 briefings in a row. yesterday no briefings. he hasn't had one in fact since last monday. so it goes to show you how difficult the position he e is in and that comes amid questions about whether he should stay in office. you see more and more lawmakers, comments from people calling in and if he doesn't resign lawmakers at some republicans mainly are calling for him to be impeached so he has two things going on. there's two scandals. one is sexual harassment, the one that we've been talking about that too is the nursing homes you remember, before these problems came to the 44 governor andrew cuomo,

dealing with sexual harassment people were already calling for his resignation. lawmakers were already asking for him to leave office because of the state undercounting of nursing home deaths. but what happened was new york traditionally for many months was knocking out nursing home residents who went to hospitals and nursing home deaths, they were counted as hospital deaths and that led to an undercounting of those who were from nursing homes dying. so instead of these thousand or so initially being reported , turns out it's more like 13,000 and that led to a whole other roundup inquiries and concerns and hearings and now there's two investigations going on. the one that we noted from cave and there's another investigation by the us department of justice that investigate the wholenursing home situation . >> we saw the governor make a

statement in regarding to e these things and it read in ndpart this, sometimes i think i'm being playful and make jokes that i think are funny and i now understand my interactions may have been too personal and some of my comments given my positions make others feel in a way i never intended to acknowledge some of the things i said may have been misinterpreted as unwanted flirtation . to the extent anyone thought thatway i'm sorry about . >> and extent on how this affects the investigative report considering this is what he said about the situation ? >> the investigation can use any and all evidence put forth that statement did not do much to quell the criticism of this. charlotte bennett the woman who came forward on saturday made claims that she felt uncomfortable that he made inappropriate comments to her about her personal life. ever would date an older man.that she came out with a statement yesterday

that just cuomo's statement six ways from monday saying he needs to come forward and he needs to acknowledge or acknowledge and take responsibility for his gepredatory behavior. >> host: because you're there and albany covering the governor have any ofthese patterns have emerged before ? >> caller: not explicit like this. one thing that has a been long been discussed is cuomo's governing style. the fact that he many people have called him a bully, to his critics, that he's aggressive. that he is gives, will remount his opponent and let them know how he feels but he's often said that that is a means to an end. that he's fighting to get priorities straight. you talk about where he is

and whether he can withstand it, it's important to remember that in the state legislature, they're not friendly with cuomo so to speak. he is, he's had many battles. we had many discussions about the minimum wage. he's many of the progressive measures that they had fought but now when he's in trouble, he's not finding a lot of allies. in the state legislature who ultimately could impeach him and that's what some of them have called for. >> as far as a legal defense, has the governor hired anyone for assisting with these charges. w>> he did hire someone to help him with the nursing home scandal so he has hired a private firm their most it's worth noting that charlotte bennett, she's hired her own attorney, deborah katz. he represented the glossy

ford in the brett cavanaugh hearings. she's hired high-profile by attorney when it comes to sexual harassment so the two of them put out a statement yesterday to say that cuomo needs to be more forthright in his apology but also urging the attorney general to do a thorough investigation not only of cuomo of his administration and alleging that others need to be investigated for possible being part of this or for not speaking up so to speak. >> government and politics there, we thank you for your time today and your input. there's a story that you can read up his online. again mister spector, thank you . >> a couple of comments from our social media texting. this is bob wilson in missouri saying that the h, investigator to the business of finding the truth, make a recommendation to resolve incidents. mike in new jersey saying 26 women accused him ofsexual

misconduct . 26 women accused the democrat of such things what would we be saying? what would president obama have been president if he said the thing trump said. his hypocrisy is overwhelming as usual. sam in bakersfield saying at this point he's not going to be akable to govern effectively really needs to resign. taking us at 202-748-8000 three. that's the line you can also call if you wish if you are a resident of new york. highland park newjersey democrats line. go ahead . >> caller: thank you for taking my comments and while i am a democrat, i am a human being first. and a born american.ir consequently, i believe that governor cuomo should resign

if it's found that the accusations against him are true. and he's deemed culpable for those actions. >> host: mary in new mexico, independent line, you are next up. >> caller: in regards to andrew cuomo in this situation i remember watching andrew cuomo on cnn during chris cuomo's show during the initial coronavirus with chris cuomo was ill. and he was in accounts where governor cuomo was calling him him in and i keep remembering that governor cuomo kept mentioning the fact that he was single and

that he didn't really have anyone in his life at that point. and that he had to go out all by himself and that he was, he kind of indicated that he was looking for females. he kept saying it. and many interviews with his brothers. and i kept wondering why is the governor of new york talking about needing a woman for girlfriend or sort of indicating that. it was odd. >> how do you relate that to theallegations ? >> i relate to the he seems as though he was trying to find a girlfriend. i'm not saying that makes a connection that he did something bad to other women. that's just saying i've never seen a politician on tv and start talking about kind of wanting a girlfriend and lonely is me and all this.

and then his brother chris would go on and say well you know, you've got a big nose and all this . they'd go back and forth on how handsome one or the other was and i thought why are you doing this on tv during the coronavirus. what is he talking about the women. >> let's go to john a resident of new york, democrat line. >> you are on. >> i support governor cuomo. and i just wanted to say that i don't know when it became all right or not all right or a man to want to kiss a woman were to ask a woman to be able to kiss her area and if a woman doesn't want to be touched, i don'tknow why you just can't say don't touch me . >> that was the case of this latest allegation. in light of that you still support him erand mark. >> i absolutely do 100 percent. i think he's agrgreat governor and he did a wgreat job with the coronavirus . i know tamistakes were made mistakeshappen.

nobody's perfect . >> host: if this is the third allegation of scum forward does this indicate a pattern russian mark. >> caller: is a single guy, maybe looking for agirlfriend . why is that so wrong? what i said, if a woman doesn't want to be, she can say don't touch me, don't put your hands on me . and if a man wants to kiss a woman, wouldn't it be better rather than just go up and kiss a woman to ask a woman first can i kiss you? i don't see anythingwrong with that . >> caller: let's go to how. >> there's no end to this investigation, the governor's doing a great job. you invest in college, i yearbook investigation.. we have yet to even see governor cuomo's college your books.

here of all the excuses from the left-wing media and iknow governor cuomo's gone , why because the popcorn news good morning america is now covering thisnext it will be an snl skit . the typical group loop of the liberal media. why did it take three years in the big story. one woman goes back to 2017. here's the bigger question. why was the governor so brazen to do this in the era of me too unless he thought the press would cover for him? it's me too all over the face of the liberals today. they're dancing all around how to get this guy across area just a month ago he was writing a book and we were waiting on a nobel peace prize for the guy. it's called equal treatment. we did this, this is why the right is suspicious of you folks. maybe we are a bit paranoid.

find the truth. start revealing your job and what you went to college for and find thetruth . >> host: one of those people commenting on the accusations against the governor. also a frequent critic of the governor's bill de blasio talked about allegations recently , here's a bit of what he had . >> got two women who work for him and one of the things we've all come to realize because of the way women have stood up, because it's been a fundamental change in society that's long overdue is someone who works for you there in a positionof some vulnerability . they worry for their job and theirfuture . and when anybody particularly an older man tried to take advantage of a younger woman does something that makes that woman feel and she doesn't consent to what the man wants she may not keep her job and these are

horrible things that are unacceptable in our society so again focus on the investigation. we've got to focus on what and if anything where someone force a woman to have sex, that's someone who should no longer be inpublic service . >> from alabama and mountain bill, your we go again, democrats now, how do single people date these days in the workplace that's not criminal. that is the death star taking their marching orders from pam bondi and this is dave saying cuomo's risk and arrogance, one wonders what the 33-year-old man is thinking kissing someone who is his daughter's age, what would hedo if his daughter wastreated this way . this is vijames in greenville north carolina , you are next . >> caller: i don't think the governor should resign. we had a president that said grab a woman by the bondi and

he's president. he thinks it's all good. >> host: so it's not worthy of even investigating? >> caller: did they investigate trump? 425,000 people died and he didn't even look into it. >> host: but aside from that these charges againstthe governor do you think it's worthy of investigation ? >> caller: not really, he grabbed a woman by the cheeks, i grab my daughter by her cheeks the other night. >> host: are going to go to maxine in baltimore michigan, independent line, hello. >> caller: good morning c-span. this allegation against cuomo , it's a bunch of lala. it's pkc said. none of us were there so we know. her were ready to throw him to her. >> host: there's three women

involved in this now. >> caller: doesn't make any difference? 3 headline as good as 1. i'm not sayinghe's guilty or not guilty but if your email and you go in your place you can expect harassment . it's just natural. men will be and you have to learn to deal with. you can't run hr with every little he said this for she. >> host: so it's a woman's problem versus the ones being accused. how does it become the woman's problem? >> caller: is a woman's problem, you're going to into a man's world and you have to expect them to act like men . this thing with cuomo, cuomo is nothing. the fact that he murdered senior citizens, that's the st problem. >> host: back to these charges, when both the democrats in congress or at

least the senate call for investigation and when representatives in new york n?call for his resignation you have state legislatures calling for resignation is that worthy of concern or a investigation? >> caller: it's politics. it is politics. can't you getit? they're not playing but will . by their democratic playbook. cuomo has fallen into disfavor with his group. >> .. this guy sent 9000 people to their deaths and was on his brothers show joking and i want to know [inaudible] this is getting ridiculous with all this

stuff. him and his brother have their own show and a couple clowns and they will get away with it. democrats never get persecuted for anything. the same people say nothing should happen but they are saying people will called up on brett kavanaugh and how horrible he was. >> host: these accusations ledan from the senator al franken to be removed from the senate. do think that investigation replieson in this case with the governor? >> caller: franken never killed 9000 people. this guy did. it's worse than that. >> host: new york resident this is a nne, democratic line. >> caller: i live in new york city and i voted for governor cuomo and i hope to be able to do so again. i think there is a big difference between someone behaving like a jerk and you say no thank you and someone who is sexually aggressive andis in all of these instances even if they are true cuomo did nothing that was should make him be removed

from office and, by the way, i don't think al franken should have resigned either. i do think that, i mean, you have donald trump on rape charges from going into a dressing room and shoving someone against the a wall and raping them and you want to pick on andrew cuomo? >> host: three women have identified some type of harassment or at least uncomfortable withh the governor's actions that doesn't concern you at all? >> to be uncomfortable with someone coming on to you is quite a bit different than sexual aggression. you simply say no thank you. i am sure he wasn't going to slam her against the wall and demand that he kiss her or something but you just simply say no thank you. >> host: tara in cherry hill, new jersey, independent line, good morning. >> caller: hello, good morning. i just want to let you know from life experience and what i have

witnessed in the scene of politics, this is the political set up and i think al franken should not have resigned either. i begged him don't listen to nancy closely and don't resign and i think it's a political set up. >> host: how so. before you leave, how so what makes it a set up? o how do you, clarify that. how do you defend it to? >> caller: , as i said life experience and what i have witnessed watching the world and the scenes of politics. if he did something that somebody powerful didn't, more powerful than him didn't like, they will mess him up and probably more women will come up and i'm not going to be surprised becausee that is the protocol. >> host: but you're calling it a set up and if that is gays doing their some type of collusion between the three women involved? >> caller: no, i'm saying there is a process like feeling

uncomfortable because somebody asks you if they can date you or if they can kiss you and that's very normal. you just say no and move on. a feeling uncomfortable she might have made people uncomfortable because he's single and looking to date someone sos feeling uncomfortae is not a reason for a governor to resign. >> host: but the previous caller mentioned that because we live in the era of you to those interactions. have changed in this day and age. don't you think that warrants some type of difference in how men approach women and that kind of thing? >> caller: no, as long as he doesn't touch her in a pro- inappropriate or push them against the wall but it if he kindly asks do you date older men that's not a crime and i don't think america should do that to its son's spirit america

should not do that to its children and come up with those dyplans and somebody is doing it to him. >> host: okay. that was tara in new jersey. we spent half hour getting your calls and looking at these allegations against governor cuomo we will do the same until 8:00 o'clock and if you want to call us (202)748-8000 for democrats, (202)748-8001 for republicans and (202)748-8002 for independence. new york residents you can call at (202)748-8003 in the house is excited to come into work at 9:00 o'clock ass legislation takes place. democrats planning their retreat into engage in topics of their strategy for the congress and again we talk about those with guests in our second hour. we will take your calls for the next half-hour. daddy in georgia.

democrat line, hello. >> caller: hello. how are you doing? i was reading about what he supposedly did and personally, i would not call that sexual harassment. i would call that a manl lookig for a date and there is nothing wrong with, i might not like an old man dating a 20 something -year-old woman but i just don't see. >> host: but exactly why to the category of sexual harassment in your mind? >> caller: sexual harassment is when some man touches you or grabs you aggressively.ar if some man comes up to you and says how are you doing and you were at a wedding and he says and he comes up to you and you're wearing a dress hanging down you know and then he puts his hand on your back, you would say do not touch me, get your hands off of me and it was nice meeting you and walk away.

nobody is making her stand there. why doesn't she walk away? >> host: rebecca is in south carolina, republican line. good morning. >> caller: good morning. so -- i feel very strongly about this issue that we have elected officials that we hold to a high standard and we should both republicans and democrats. if there is nothing that was done wrong then an investigation will show that nothing was done wrong. i am stunned having heard the comments from women who just believe that other women allegations should not be taken seriously. do we not live in 2021? have we not made progress? >> host: rebecca in south carolina giving us her thoughts again you can call on the lines this morning and post on social media in one of the people who

were asked to comment on monday was the white house press secretary jen sack and asked about these allegations you can find the full press conference on our website at c-span but here's a portion for mystery. >> it supports an independent review of the sexual harassment allegations against him but one of the 25 -year-old charlotte detailed specific language and questions she said the governor asked her about her personal life that made her feel uncomfortable in the governor himself has not denied asking those personal questions but the question is in general when it comes to sexual misconduct where is the redline for this administration? is an only unwanted physical overtures or unwelcome language between a boss and a subordinates with the power dimension? >> that story was incredibly uncomfortable to read as a woman and we certainly believe that every woman coming forward,

charlotte, lindsay b should be treated with respect and dignity and be able to tell their story and treated with respect. there is a process of reviewing, as you noted. independent investigation we will leave it to that process through the attorney general to make a determination on the path forward. >> but just in general --- >> host: this is lisa from facebook saying since when do we make people resignpe before they are found guilty of anything and overwrite that's that's al franken the look how good that turned out for kirsten gillibrand and he deserves to have thisnd investigated, carol texted us from panama city saying that the governor should go but however adding that former president trump never stepped down after 18 plus accusers came forward accusing him of sexual misconduct plus he paid hush money to the president in the pockets he will hear from republicans now will be stunning. again, several ways you can reach out and make your ways known. this is from crystal in albany,

new york, democrat line. your next. >> caller: hello, thank you for having me. i believe, okay, cuomo is innocent t and i will vote for m again as far as these allegations, this goes further back than sexual harassment. it goes back as far as when he was going to dc to get things to help new york state okay, with the pandemic. trump even said that he was going to get him to. i mean, why don't people realize that trump has done everything in his power to make sure that new york state, okay, that he was helping to make sure things were getting the ppe. >> host: were not talking about the former president but talking about the allegations against why do you think they are not true?

>> caller: wothose women lied. okay. women can also do and play the same game paired they can go up to man and do the same thing and then turn around and claim that this person did something to them. why are they investigating both sides instead of just one side. >> host: what do the women get out of this. if that is the charge, what are the women getting out of this? >> caller: who says women have to get anything out of it.ve maybe they just want him to step down. but for himim to resign, he dont need to resign. he needs to stay and fight for new york state. the fight we know -- he is not that person. he's been there for ten years. does he have any record of this for ten years before this came up? >> host: we will hear from rufus in arlington, texas, republican line. >> caller: yes, yes, i would say if a man is a single man and no one [inaudible] i don't

understand, he's a single guy and people try to blame him for everything. he really does nothing but what he tried to do as a governor. he probably overstepped his issue a little bit but the man had his hand tied from start of this coronavirus to now. >> host: but this is not about the coronavirus but accusations from three women. you're saying you believe them or notus. >> caller: i got to. this man is a single like i said. he looking. he ain't tied to nothing marital. >> host: so the actions in these three instances, that makes it right? >> caller: no, no, no. let's say you single and you see an attractivelk person and you walk up and if you invade her space and she will let you know,

back off. i'm over 60 and you use to walk up and touch their hands or hold their hand like how are you doing and you look nice but when you get that frown you know to back up. likeke oh, i apologize but step off. but when people take pictures of you everywhere you go and they put their spin on it, no, that don't roll. >> host: we will hear from another resident from new york. several calling in on our 2,027,488,003, jasmine, hello. [audio difficulties] [audio difficulties]

democrats, stop it, you will put a republican governor in and i will vote for cuomo againwi he should not resign. he is governor. [inaudible]. [inaudible] she is wrong. >> host: jazzman in new york givingle her thoughts on these allegations against governor cuomo. we will do thatom for 20 more minutes but other pieces of news to share with you this morning. this is about the relationship of the u.s. and iran, comments from or actually the world stage in iran these are comments from

the international atomic energy agency chief which is highlighted in "the washington post" this morning. appeal to all sides of engage in constructive discussion as the vienna -based agency report iran enacted a law that restricted snap access for inspectors for surveillance cameras complaining it's not the reasoning of the economic award that was promised on the 2015 deal in exchange for. >> you can find all these segments online@c-span .org prayed we leave this chick you live now to the senate about to gavel in. vote: