New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced he is resigning from his office on Monday, just hours after a report surfaced of four women accusing Schneiderman of physical violence against them.
Two women, Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam, spoke on the record to the New Yorker, both saying they had been romantically involved with Schneiderman but that the violence was nonconsensual.
According to The New Yorker, Barish and Selvaratnam said he had hit and choked them, and that they later sought medical attention because of it. Selvaratnam also alleged that Schneiderman threatened to tap her phone, among other threats.
Both women alleged that the incidents often occurred after Schneiderman had been drinking.
Schneiderman tweeted a statement on Monday evening, writing that nonconsensual sex "is a line I would not cross."
"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," the tweet reads.
Two more women, who are unnamed, also accuse Schneiderman of physical abuse in the news report, including one woman who is characterized by The New Yorker as "an attorney who has held prominent positions in the New York legal community" and asked to remain anonymous. The reportedly prominent lawyer said that when she rejected Schneiderman, he slapped her so forcefully a mark was still visible the following day, according to The New Yorker.
Schneiderman, a Democrat, has been a vocal proponent of the #MeToo movement, bringing legal action in New York against film producer Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of sexually assaulting women. Schneiderman has also cast himself as a prominent opponent to President Donald Trump.
