New York's Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, a high-profile figure in the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, today abruptly resigned hours after he was accused by four women of physically assaulting them.
Schneiderman, who had been running for re-election, rose to national prominence as a foe of the Trump administration.
"It's been my great honour and privilege to serve as Attorney General for the people of the State of New York," 63-year-old New York state's top prosecutor said in a statement released here late last night.
"In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me."
Schneiderman said while the allegations are "unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office's work at this critical time. I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8, 2018."
In a statement given before his resignation, Schneiderman had said that 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 nonconsensual sex, which is a line I would not cross."
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