On May 7th of this year, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman was forced to resign amidst multiple allegations of physical assault against women. Among the allegations were accusations of choking, slapping, and usage of racial slurs. This wasn’t the first case of allegations bringing down a man in power, especially in the age of #MeToo, but what was notable was how large of a role Schneiderman had played in the movement beforehand.
Using his power as the Attorney General of New York, Schneiderman brought criminal charges against Harvey Weinstein and pursued a civil-rights suit against him, doing his best to vehemently condemn abusers like him. Schneiderman was also a huge proponent of the anti-Trump movement, suing him over 100 times, on issues including Trump University and the rescinding of DACA. Up for re-election later in the year, Schneiderman used his positions on Trump to become a rising left-wing star, one that was said to have a bright future in the state of New York. His predecessor in the office of New York Attorney General was Andrew Cuomo, and many speculated that Schneiderman was on track to follow in his footsteps. Fiercely and unapologetically liberal, Eric Schneiderman was the spark that New York Democrats needed. Then, his true colors were shown.
“All of a sudden, he just slapped me, open-handed and with great force, across the face, landing the blow directly onto my ear,” said one of his accusers. This is one of many statements from one of the women that came forward in the damning New Yorker article that brought the accusations to light. To many of his supporters, accusations like these were shocking, especially given Schneiderman’s history with women’s rights. He was the only man invited to speak at the New York Women’s March in January, and was honored just six days prior by the National Institute for Reproductive Health as one of three “Champions of Choice”. Another of his accusers said of the award: “This is a man who has staked his entire career, his personal narrative, on being a champion for women publicly. But he abuses them privately. He needs to be called out.” In fact, the increasing attention on Schneiderman as a champion of women’s rights is what finally motivated his accusers to come forward. Seeing him being lauded for his leading of the Weinstein suit, and the statements damning sexual harassers in relation to the suit, was doubtlessly just too much for them. One woman asked: “How can you put a perpetrator in charge of the country’s most important sexual-assault case?”
At the time of the publishing of the New Yorker article, Schneiderman was just shifting in to campaign mode. He was hosting one town hall meeting after another, all over New York state, and was gearing up to host one in Long Island on May 10th. He had his stump speech ready, where he was prepared to go over the highlights of his tenure as attorney general. He was making appearances at March for Our Lives and on MSNBC and was gearing up to collect endorsements from other prominent figures like Andrew Cuomo and Joe Biden. His re-election was all but guaranteed, but no one could have predicted his “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” persona coming (as described by one of his accusers).
On November 8, 2018, almost exactly 6 months later, it was announced that there would be no criminal charges brought against Schneiderman. The Nassau County District Attorney, who was asked personally by Governor Cuomo to investigate the claims against Schneiderman when they were first brought forth, said that she “believe[s] the women”, but “legal impediments, including statutes of limitations, preclude criminal persecution.” In response, Eric Schneiderman released a statement apologizing again for his conduct and claimed to have spent the past few months in a rehab facility in an attempt to repent.
Since his resignation, the office of New York State Attorney General has been held by two women: first by Solicitor General Barbara Underwood, as a short-term replacement, and now by newly-elected Letitia “Tish” James, who is also the first African-American woman to be elected to the position and the first to be elected to statewide office. After the stain left by Eric Schneiderman, the office of New York Attorney General will do well with a female face.
-Anissa Weisel
