Eric Schneiderman, Accused by 4 Women, Quits as New York Attorney General

The call was echoed by Senator Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who led the charge to oust Al Franken from the Senate. “The violent actions described by multiple women in this story are abhorrent,” she said in a statement. “Based on this extensive and serious reporting, I do not believe that Eric Schneiderman should continue to serve as attorney general.”

Under New York’s Constitution, Mr. Schneiderman’s replacement will be selected by the State Assembly and Senate by joint ballot — effectively placing the decision in the hands of the Assembly, which has many more members.

The Assembly speaker, Carl E. Heastie, planned to discuss possible replacements on Tuesday, according to Michael Whyland, a spokesman for Mr. Heastie. Whoever is chosen to fill out Mr. Schneiderman’s term could then seek election in November.

No Democrat had declared an intention to challenge Mr. Schneiderman, who was up for re-election this year, in the primary; Manny Alicandro, a corporate lawyer from New York City, is running as a Republican and officially declared his candidacy on Monday.

Since 2017, Mr. Schneiderman had raised his profile nationally by taking on President Trump’s agenda repeatedly in the courts. He was pushing to change state law so that his office could prosecute Mr. Trump’s aides even if the president pardoned them; his resignation makes the status of that effort less certain.

Women’s issues had also been a focal point for Mr. Schneiderman, who had announced, for instance, a lawsuit against the company once run by the former filmmaker Harvey Weinstein, who was accused of decades of sexual misconduct. “We have never seen anything as despicable as what we’ve seen right here,” Mr. Schneiderman said then.

Ms. Manning Barish, in The New Yorker account, described being slapped by Mr. Schneiderman after they had both been drinking; she and Ms. Selvaratnam said several of the attacks occurred after alcohol had been consumed.

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