♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight, fall from grace. the shocking findings from new york's attorney general. >> governor cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, many of whom were young women. >> calling it part of a pattern. >> i feel like he is dismissing us. >> cuomo denying it all. >> i never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual aadvances. >> the calls from his own party to step down. >> i think you should resign. plus faces of resilience. simone biles, her remarkable comeback. her teammate sunisa lee, team usa's youngest gymnastics champion. >> i'm super proud of myself for sticking with it and believing in myself. >> the first hmong-american

olympian, the pride of her community. >> i think she showed all the hmong people around the world that she's able to get there. don't settle for products that give you a sort of white smile. try new crest whitening emulsions for 100% whiter teeth. its highly active peroxide droplets swipe on in seconds. better. faster. 100% whiter teeth. crestwhitesmile.com can you be free of hair breakage worries? we invited mahault to see for herself that new dove breakage remedy gives damaged hair the strength it needs. even with repeated combing hair treated with dove shows 97% less breakage. strong hair with new dove breakage remedy. shows 97% less breakage. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google, turn up the heat. ♪ ♪ ♪

receive a chargepoint home flex charger or a public charging credit. see your volvo retailer for details. ♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. not that long ago, new york governor andrew cuomo was talked about as a possible presidential

contender, hailed by some as a hero for his leadership during the darkest days of the pandemic. today new york's attorney general accused him of widespread sexual misconduct after an investigation included interviews with dozens of women and the calls for his resignation are growing louder. a stunning fall from grace for one of america's most well-known politicians. >> the independence investigation found that governor cuomo sexually harassed multiple women. >> reporter: a scathing report from new york state attorney general laticia james, alleging that new york's governor cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, even a state trooper who was assigned to his detail. >> in an elevator, while standing behind the trooper, he ran his finger from her neck down her spine and said, "hey, you." another time, he took his open hand and ran it across her stomach from her belly button to the hip where she keeps her gun. she told us that she felt completely violated. >> i just think it is outrageous

beyond anything anyone could have ever imagined and it obviously shows the governor thought he was above the law and untouchable. >> reporter: the 168-page investigation released today details events from by 13 until last year, highlighting allegations from 11 women. >> specifically, the investigation found that governor andrew cuomo sexually harassed current and former new york state employees by engaging in unwelcome and nonconsensual touching and making numerous offensive comments of a suggestive and sexual nature that created a hostile work environment for women. >> reporter: the probe found in at least one instance, the governor tried to retaliate against a woman who leveled accusations against him. >> there's independent evidence, there are text messages, there's eyewitness accounts. it all paints a damning picture altogether. and frankly, the evidence is overwhelming. >> what we have is play-by-play, the investigation from a member of his own party finding his

allegations not just credible, but corroborated across the board. >> reporter: widespread calls for cuomo's resignation coming from within his own party, even president biden weighing in. >> i think he should resign. i understand that the state legislature may decide to impeach. >> reporter: governor andrew cuomo today giving no indication he ever plans to resign. instead, defiant and denying the allegations. >> i never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. >> reporter: cuomo appearing in this highly produced video shown hugging and kissing people, later releasing images of other politicians appearing to do the same. >> i do kiss people on the cheek. i do kiss people on the hand. i do embrace people. >> the accusations are so much more pervasive, so much more toxic, so much more obvious workplace sexual harassment. >> his response was, well, it was called for, well, i'm from a

different generation. >> it was very upsetting, his responses today. i feel like he is dismissing us. and that's not fair. he needs to come forward and admit what he did was inappropriate. >> reporter: sherry veil is one of the 179 people investigators interviewed. she gave information about an incident that happened back in may of 2017 when the governor visited her home after a flood. >> he came into my home. i asked the governor, do you think we should have to live like this? and his response was to come up to me, grab my hand, kiss me on both cheeks. after he surveyed the damages outside, he circled around the house, he again approached me, he grabbed my hand, again, he grabbed my face and kissed me again. >> reporter: in that moment, what was your gut reaction? >> it was an unwanted kiss.

that i was not comfortable with. >> what matters is sherry vill clearly did not have an opportunity to consent or not consent, and it was not welcome to her. it was embarrassing to her. >> reporter: her account cited in the report backing up allegations that the governor engaged in behavior that made at least one woman feel uncomfortable. allegations first surfaced in december of last year. linsey boylan, former aide to the cuomo administration, came forward. at the time she tweeted, yes, cuomo sexually harassed me for years, many saw it and watched. in february, boylan went further, detailing her experience in this online post writing, he stepped in front of me and kissed me on the lips. alleging that in 2017, cuomo invited her to play strip poker while they were on a government plane. days later "the new york times" published its own report, a second aide coming forward. 25-year-old charlotte bennett accusing the governor of sexual

harassment. she says she reported the incident but his office buried claims. she later left the position. talking to the governor speaking to cbs news in this interview. >> you have been quoted as saying that he also asked you about if you'd ever been with an older man. >> yeah. he also explained that he was fine with anyone over 22. >> and how old are you? >> 25. >> reporter: cuomo denied bennett and boylan's allegations and enlisted a federal judge to conduct a review of the claims. the move prompting backlash. politicians demanding an independent probe, as more allegations swirled. >> many of us in the senate called on the governor to either resign or step aside while these allegations are pending so that we can have someone effectively run the state. but we all at that time, many of

us, if not all of us, said that this fact-finding report is going to be important. >> reporter: it was seen as a meteoric descent for the man once considered a leading voice for his aggressive response to the coronavirus pandemic. last june the governor sat down with my colleague, amy robach. >> we were the worst in the country, so we took dramatic action and got bled new yorkers, they all rallied. >> reporter: many across the country tuned in to his daily press conference. >> we're going to get through it because we are new york. >> reporter: but that heroism would be clouded by controversy. >> that is just not who i am. >> ever since these allegations first came to light, he had always said, let's let the investigation play out. it played out over four months. >> reporter: in his response today, cuomo doubled down, maintaining he had done nothing wrong. cuomo specifically addressing two of his accusers, including bennett. >> i have heard charlotte and her lawyer, and i understand what they are saying.

but they read into comments that i made and draw inferences that i never meant. charlotte, i want you to know that i am truly and deeply sorry. >> reporter: just tonight, bennett responding telling cbs evening news anchor cora owe dun that -- >> he sexually harassed me. i am not confused. it is not confusing. i am living in reality. it's sad to see that he's not. >> reporter: while the a.g.'s findings do not come with charge, the albany county district attorney has requested their material and for more women to come forward. the state assembly that could impeach him has launched an examination. >> what new york attorney general laticia james said was this report was the end of the line for her office. but that the women involved could file civil lawsuits against the governor or ask for prosecutors in the state to file criminal charges where appropriate. >> reporter: and for the women at the heart of this

investigation, perhaps today signals a sea change and a way forward. >> politically, do you think the governor can survive this? >> i think it's going to be very difficult for the governor to survive this. the consequences are not going to go away simply because he's a powerful man. >> it's slowly becoming a new day where women who accuse powerful men are being heard and believed. what does this day mean to you? >> a huge step towards making a stand that we are not going to tolerate bad behavior from men or women in power. so i think, and i'm hoping, this is going to set an example. >> and tomorrow, more from charlotte bennett on "gma." the former cuomo aide who has accused him of sexual harassment tells her story. up next, sunisa lee and the

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community to make to it the olympics. here's "nightline's" ashan singh. >> reporter: an olympic journey surpassing all expectations. 18-year-old sunisa lee, the first hmong-american to compete in the olympics. the first asian-american youngest champion. the youngest team member on team usa. drenched in gold, silver, and bronze. >> there was a point in time where i wanted to quit, and i just didn't think i would ever get here. >> reporter: her father, john, showing off the balance beam he built for his daughter when she was younger. >> couldn't afford a real one, so i built that for her. as a kid, she enjoyed it. >> reporter: no medal in her last event, but the shine of her accomplishments as bright as the spotlight she's brought to an often-overlooked community. >> we're in tears. because with one action, she explains everything. she put us out there. that we are people. we are human beings. we are good. we are successful. we can do things. >> before last week, before sunisa lee, who was the most famous hmong person?

>> i can't name a person. >> reporter: now there's one name on everyone's lips. >> sunisa, whoo! >> go, sunisa, we love you so much! >> hi, welcome to the hmong-american festival. >> reporter: pride overplowing when thousands of hmong-americans from all corners of the country descended on wausau, wisconsin. a celebration of traditional dances and songs, sports competitions, and food. >> that is so good. that is delicious. >> reporter: keeping their colorful heritage alive for the next generation is key for this group to ensure their culture isn't lost to history. >> all of the costumes, all of our hmong traditional outfits, after 45 years plus of being in the u.s., i think we've made so much strides. we're just so proud. and then to see this picture just made everything that much sweeter.

>> reporter: these are the kinds of events and stories that hmong tv anchor padie yang wants to share with the world. >> we have a lot of good stories, a lot of inspirational stories, we have a lot of educational stuff we need to teach our communities. >> reporter: sunisa's hometown of st. paul, minnesota, has the largest concentration of hmong-americans in the country. more than 80,000. >> we have clinics, we have hmong school, hmong lawyers, hmong doctors, hmong businesses, a hmong mall. >> it's challenging in a good way. >> reporter: two years ago when sunisa was just an olympic hopeful and not known outside this tight-knit community -- >> i also knew she would go far because she got the right parents to support her. and i did her story because i want to inspire other young hmong people, that you can do something, you can become something. >> reporter: like sunisa's

parents, padee came to the u.s. as a refugee following the so-called secret war in southeast asia. during the vietnam war, the cia recruited tens of thousands of hmong farmers to help stop the spread of communism. >> they were promised for to be taken care of if anything happened. >> so that promise wasn't kept? >> it was not kept. and so we had to flee for our life, because people started to get persecuted. we left on foot. overnight decision. we moved to thailand. and that's where we lived for a while. >> reporter: after pressure on the u.s. to live up to its side of the bargain, asylum was granted. now 90% of the ethnic group lives in the u.s. >> once we came to america as refugees, we found out that nobody knows us, we are not in the history, nobody knew about us. >> yet the hmong community was never hiding. does it feel a little weird that you're having to explain this stuff over and over again, in a way? >> i would say, disrespected and

abandonment. our parents, our grandparents, they have helped the americans so much. and yet today, people still don't value the contribution. >> reporter: there's no official flag or homeland, but a whole lot of grit and soul. >> hmong language. [ speaking foreign language ] it literally mean, i got your back, you got my back, if not, who will? we do things as a group, we support each other. >> when the hooting happened, i was probably 15 feet away. >> reporter: that support was right there when rob yang needed it. last june when the twin cities were racked by civil unrest following the death of george floyd, rob's shoe stores were one of the many hmong-owned businesses ransacked. businesses which had already been suffering from the pandemic shutdown. >> it symbolizes my american

dream. they're looting my american dream. all the hard work and sweat i poured into my business. >> following all that unrest, we saw an uptick in attacks on the asian-american community. >> yeah. my wife, she really doesn't feel safe going to the grocery store anymore by herself. >> reporter: rob came to the u.s. when he was 2. his family was part of the hmong exodus from southeast asia. his father one of the many recruited by the cia. >> i remember my parents telling us that when we came to the u.s., we had less than a dollar to our name. you know, when i graduated from college, you know, my family's gift to me was $5,000. just with a little bit of hope, a little bit of support from my family, hey, this is what i built. >> reporter: even though rob's store, phenom, has faced setbacks, he's not deterred from trying to achieve his version of the american dream. >> i want to show my kids that you're going to have obstacles in life, and you can either lay down or stand up and keep fighting. you know, and i'm going to show

them, you know, i'm going to keep fighting. >> you wouldn't be hmong if you quit. >> right. >> at what point did you start to embrace your community and start to really feel proud of being what honk? >> once i started going to these hmong festivals. learning more history about the hmong community and my people. >> reporter: what it all means today is immense pride, that sunisa lee, one of their own, now represents success for america as a whole. >> she symbolizes who we are. hard work pays off. her story is my story. her story is my kids' story. >> we want to live the dream. to have a job, to own a good house, to have business. and so we're just like any other people. we share the same dream. >> and even though it might start with sunisa lee, it certainly doesn't end there? >> exactly. there will be more coming. there will be more coming, so look out.

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finally tonight, firefighters in the west have had their hands full this season already. karat therapy dog has been busy. she recently paid a visit to some of those battling the dixie fire, california's largest. the wagging tail and wet nose, just what was needed. cara spends her days supporting california's first responders, hanging out at the firehouses, tough job, but somebody has to do it. man's best friend indeed. that's "nightline" for this evening. catch our full episodes on hulu. we'll see you right b