New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigns after accusations of physical abuse by women

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned on Monday after allegations of physical abuse by four women were reported in an article in the New Yorker magazine.

Governor Andrew Cuomo called for Schneiderman's resignation within hours of the article's publication.

"In the last several hours, serious allegations, which I strongly contest, have been made against me," Schneiderman said in a statement. "While these 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 response to an article in the New Yorker magazine in which four women were quoted as saying he physically abused them that he has "not assaulted anyone," and Governor Andrew Cuomo later called for him to resign and said he would begin an investigation.

“In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity," Schneiderman said in a statement issued by public relations firm Stu Loeser & Co.

"I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in non-consensual sex, which is I line I would not cross." Schneiderman's office referred calls for comment to Loeser's office.

Schneiderman, whose office has taken on a high-profile role in the fight against sexual misconduct, was physically violent with four women he was romantically involved with, according to their accounts which were published in The New Yorker.

Two women spoke on the record, saying Schneiderman repeatedly hit them during the course of their relationships with him in recent years, and never with their consent. Neither woman filed any police complaints, but both said they sought out medical attention and confided in people close to them about the 

A third woman who also was involved with him told her story to the other two women, but said she was too frightened to come forward. A fourth woman said Schneiderman slapped her when she rebuffed him, but also asked to remain unidentified. The New Yorker said it vetted the third woman's allegations, and saw a photo of what the fourth woman said was her injury.

The two women who spoke on the record, Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam, both said the physical abuse escalated over time, including choking and hitting, and that Schneiderman also was a heavy drinker. The Associated Press is identifying the women because they agreed to tell their stories publicly.

Manning Barish said she was involved with Schneiderman from mid-2013 through the end of 2014; Selvaratnam said she was involved with him from the summer of 2016 until fall 2017.

Manning Barish said Schneiderman started getting violent a few weeks after they began dating, slapping her one night after an evening out and escalating to choking her. She said she confided in friends, including novelist Salman Rushdie.