At around 6:45 p.m. on Monday, The New Yorker published an article by Jane Mayer and Ronan Farrow citing allegations by four women that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman physically or sexually abused them.
"I thought, he's only got a couple hours left," Karen Dewitt, the Capitol Bureau Chief for New York State Public Radio, told WNYC's Richard Hake.
Three hours after the story went up, Schneiderman resigned, saying he contested the allegations but could no longer effectively do his job. He told The New Yorker, "In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in non-consensual sex, which is a line I would not cross."
"This is worse even than the Eliot Spitzer scandal," said Dewitt. "In the scheme of capitol scandals, and all the corruption with the former legislative leaders, people are so stunned by this."
Schneiderman, who previously served as a state senator representing parts of Manhattan's West Side, was widely thought to have larger political aspirations.
"Well, the joke in New York political circles is that A.G. stands for 'aspiring governor,'" explained Dewitt. "Eliot Spitzer was attorney general, Andrew Cuomo was attorney general, and until recently, people assumed that Andrew Cuomo would win a third term, and then it would be Eric Schneiderman's turn to be governor."
Before entering politics, Schneiderman attended Harvard Law School, then worked as a public interest lawyer, becoming what many saw as a champion of women's rights.
"He started his career escorting women to Planned Parenthood to protect them from protesters. And lately, he was suing Harvey Weinstein, he was speaking up on Twitter defending women who were coming out and revealing past sexual assault. So it just makes this even more shocking," said Dewitt.
Schneiderman will likely face criminal charges over these allegations. Gov. Cuomo has called for the "appropriate district attorney" to pursue this, which adds complications, since Schneiderman has been in court with the Manhattan District Attorney, Cy Vance, over how Vance handled the Weinstein allegation. Vance's office on Tuesday announced that it's opening an investigation into the allegations. The NYPD says it has not yet received any complaints against Schneiderman.
As for Schneiderman's immediate successor, Assembly Democrats, who hold the majority, get to appoint his replacement. That means Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie will effectively gets to pick the next attorney general, who would likely continue pursuing some of Schneiderman's more high-profile cases. That interim A.G. will then face an election in November.