New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is facing another charge of sexual harassment, this time from a woman currently employed in his office. Alyssa McGrath, a 33-year-old executive assistant, told The New York Times that Cuomo was looking at his body inappropriately and commenting on his appearance.
His lawyer, Mariann Wang, confirmed that McGrath gave the report to the Times.
McGrath, who does not work directly for Cuomo, said the interactions started shortly after she was hired in mid-2018. The following year, she was with Cuomo in her office when he allegedly made a comment to her in Italian. Later, she asked her parents what the phrase meant.
“I was talking about how beautiful I was,” she told the publication.
At another meeting in his office, McGrath claimed that Cuomo looked at his shirt and asked about his necklace. “I lowered my head hoping he would start talking, but he didn’t start talking,” she said. “So I looked up to see what was going on. And he was shamelessly looking at my shirt.”
McGrath also said that Cuomo kissed her on the forehead during the office’s Christmas party in 2019 and called her and a co-worker “mingle boobs” after asking the co-worker about her romantic life.
“He has a way of making you feel very comfortable with him, almost as if you were his friend,” McGrath told the Times. “But then you leave the meeting or the conversation, thinking in your head: ‘I can’t believe I just had that interaction with the governor of New York’.”
Cuomo is facing pressure to resign after several women filed charges against him. Cuomo rejected resignations and denied having sexually harassed anyone. He, however, apologized for comments he made that may have made women uncomfortable.
“I have never, ever intended to offend or hurt someone or hurt someone. I feel terrible that these people feel uncomfortable, hurt, in pain because of the interactions, and I’m ashamed of it, and I feel bad about it. , ” he said.
Cuomo’s office did not immediately respond to CBS News’s request for comment.
His lawyer, Rita Glavin, issued a statement to the Times, saying: “The governor greeted men and women with hugs and a kiss on the cheek, forehead or hand. Yes, he posed for pictures with his arm around them. Yes, he does Italian phrases like ‘ciao bella’. “
“None of this is remarkable, although it can be old-fashioned. He made it clear that he never made inappropriate advances or touched anyone inappropriately.”
McGrath’s lawyer told CBS News: “The governor’s deviations are not credible. This was not just a friendly joke.”