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ALBANY, N.Y. — New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has positioned himself as a combatant of sexual harassment and abuse, is facing calls for his resignation Monday after four women accused him of physical violence and illicit drug and alcohol use.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo called on Schneiderman, a Democrat, to step down Monday night, citing a New Yorker article detailing allegations that Schneiderman has repeatedly slapped, choked and degraded women with whom he's been romantic with. 
Those allegations, recounted in an article posted Monday evening, were based on similar-but-separate stories from four women who had romantic relationships or encounters with the state attorney general.
All four accused Schneiderman of striking them in various forms, with at least three of them saying Schneiderman slapped them forcefully across the face, according to the article.
Two of the women — Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam — told their stories on the record, while a third spoke under the condition of anonymity and a fourth told her story to Manning Barish and Selvaratnam.
Manning Barish told The New Yorker she and Schneiderman had been clothed and getting ready for bed after drinking one night when he backed her to the edge of the bed before abruptly slapping and choking her. 
"All of a sudden, he just slapped me, open handed and with great force, across the face, landing the blow directly onto my ear,” Manning Barish says. 
In a statement, Schneiderman denied ever assaulting anyone.
"In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity," he said in the statement. "I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in non-consensual sex, which is I line I would not cross." 
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Schneiderman has positioned himself as a champion of the #MeToo movement, suing Harvey Weinstein and The Weinstein Company in the wake of the sexual-harassment scandal that spurred a national reckoning over the way men treat women.
The attorney general is also in the midst of a review of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance's handling of a sexual-assault complaint against Weinstein. Schneiderman received an official referral for the review from Cuomo late last month.
"Every New Yorker has a right to a workplace free of sexual harassment, intimidation, and fear," Schneiderman said when he filed the Weinstein lawsuit in February.
Manning Barish told The New Yorker she was "crying and in shock" after the alleged incident with Schneiderman.
When she confronted him, asking if he "crazy," Schneiderman accused Manning Barish of scratching him, she told the magazine.
“You know, hitting an officer of the law is a felony," he said, according to Manning Barish. 
UltraViolet, a women's advocacy group, called on Schneiderman to resign immediately, calling his alleged actions "horrific."
"Schneiderman must resign. Immediately," Shaunna Thomas, a co-founder of the group, said in a statement. "If he fails to do so, Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature must take immediate action to remove him from office."
Follow Jon Campbell on Twitter: @JonCampbellGAN