“As an African American woman, tons of my people have been incarcerated without having due process. There should be due process,” said Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes (D), who organized the statement independent of the governor’s own aggressive damage control efforts.

The worry, she said, was not just that Cuomo, 63, could be railroaded. It was also for his accusers. “They deserve more than just a newspaper article,” she said. “They deserve to be heard.”…

Second thoughts among some Democrats about the resignation of Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.), and subsequent allegations, including claims made about Joe Biden’s behavior and accusations against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, have prompted an evolution in thinking about how to confront such incidents…

“I think we have seen it be a disservice to survivors who have spoken up when there has been too little investigation,” said Ally Coll, co-founder of the Purple Campaign, an effort to end workplace sexual harassment. “We are seeing a logical leveling out in the process here being more formalized, and from my position as an employee advocate and policymaker, that is a good thing.”