New York – A former aide who accuses New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment on Monday condemned him as a manipulative predator, as another woman said the governor left her “shocked and ashamed” after try to kiss her at a 2019 wedding.
The woman, Anna Ruch, became the third woman to publicly accuse Cuomo of offensive behavior, and the first who had not worked as an employee of the state government.
She told The New York Times on Monday that she met the governor for the first time at a wedding reception in September 2019. She said that upon meeting her, Cuomo put his hand on her bare back, which she removed , and then he put his hands on her face and asked if he could kiss her.
“I was so confused, shocked and ashamed,” Ruch, now 33, told the Times. “I turned my head and had no words at that moment.”
A photograph of the event shows Cuomo with his hands on Ruch’s visibly uncomfortable face.
An email asking for comments was sent to Ruch’s company. Their social media accounts were private. An email was also sent to the Cuomo administration for comments.
The allegations of sexual harassment by the two women who worked for the Cuomo administration prompted the independently elected New York attorney general to say that she was moving forward with an investigation.
Attorney General Letitia James received a letter on Monday from Cuomo’s office authorizing her to take control of the investigation after a weekend of disputes over who should investigate.
The letter allows James, also a Democrat, to replace an outside law firm to conduct an investigation with full subpoena power. The findings will be released in a public report, the letter said.
Cuomo said he never touched or made inappropriate proposals to anyone.
Former aide, Charlotte Bennett, on Monday rejected Cuomo’s attempted apology, in which he excused his behavior as “playful”, saying in a statement that the governor “refused to acknowledge or take responsibility for their predatory behavior “.
Bennett, who claims that Cuomo questioned her about her sex life and asked if she would be open to a relationship with an older man, wrote that “abusers – especially those with an enormous amount of power – are often repeat offenders who engage in manipulation tactics to lessen allegations, blame the victims, deny wrongdoing and escape the consequences ”.
Cuomo’s support plunged amid double crises, even among his fellow Democrats. The allegations of harassment come on the heels of accusations that he covered up the true number of coronavirus deaths in nursing home residents.
It is quite a fall for Cuomo, who was widely celebrated for his leadership during the pandemic, especially in the daily press conferences in which he sought to inform and reassure the public with tables, graphs and a machismo that he dubbed “tough New York”.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and other elected officials said that while Cuomo is under investigation, he should cede the emergency powers he has held since the pandemic began almost a year ago. The legislature took no action to revoke Cuomo’s emergency powers – due to expire on April 30 – despite pressure from Republicans, some Democrats, as well as the SUNY teachers’ union.
On Monday, Cuomo hired Manhattan litigant Elkan Abramowitz to represent him and his office in investigations related to nursing homes.
Abramowitz, who previously represented Cuomo’s office in a federal investigation into his 2014 decision to close a state anti-corruption commission, said he is not representing Cuomo on the issue of sexual harassment.
Bennett, 25, presented his allegations in a story published on Saturday in The New York Times. She said Cuomo said he was alone and looking for a girlfriend.
Cuomo did not respond to Bennett’s statement on Monday.
Former aide Lindsey Boylan said Cuomo made inappropriate comments about her appearance, kissed her without her consent at the end of a meeting and once suggested that they play strip poker on board their state jet. Boylan, who is running for the Manhattan district presidency, first accused Cuomo in a tweet last December and elaborated on the allegations in a Medium post last week.
Cuomo denied Boylan’s claims as false. In a statement on Sunday, he acknowledged that he teased people about their personal lives in an attempt to be “playful” and funny. He said he wanted to act as a mentor to Bennett.
“Now I understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or very personal and that some of my comments, due to my position, made others feel in ways I never imagined. I acknowledge that some of the things I said were misinterpreted as unwanted flirtation. To the extent that someone felt that way, I really am sorry for that, ”he said.
His statement drew immediate reaction from critics, who said he was placing responsibility on women for misunderstanding his statements.
The letter authorizing James’ investigation states that all state officials were instructed to cooperate fully with the review. Cuomo’s senior adviser, Beth Garvey, said she would facilitate interviews with witnesses and requests for documents from Cuomo’s office.
Ross Garber, a lawyer who represented former governors Mark Sanford of South Carolina and John Rowland of Connecticut, said Cuomo is “essentially handing his reputation over to a stranger and saying, ‘Do whatever it takes. Find what you want and publish a report to the public on everything you concluded I did or didn’t do. “
Bennett’s attorney, Debra Katz, said her client will cooperate fully with the attorney general’s investigation.
“We are confident that no disinterested investigator analyzing this evidence would adopt the governor’s selfish characterization of his behavior as a mentor or, at worst, unwanted flirtation,” said Katz. “He was not acting as a mentor and his comments were not misinterpreted by Ms. Bennett. He was abusing his power over her for sex. This is classic sexual harassment. “
Katz said the attorney general should investigate whether Cuomo has subjected other women to a sexually hostile work environment and whether someone in the Cuomo government has allowed his behavior.
Initially, Cuomo seemed to want to maintain a certain level of control over the investigation. His office said it was asking a former federal judge, Barbara Jones, to conduct the investigation. Then his office suggested that the attorney general and the state’s chief judge work together to appoint an outside lawyer.
Finally, on Sunday, Cuomo agreed with James’ demands that she take control.