ALBANY – An aide to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo alleges that he aggressively felt her in a sexually charged manner after she was called to the Governor’s mansion last year, according to a person with direct knowledge of the woman’s claims.
The employee, whose identity is being concealed by the Times Union, was called to the mansion on the apparent pretext that she would help the governor with a small technical problem involving his cell phone. They were alone in Cuomo’s private residence, on the second floor of the mansion, when he closed the door and reportedly reached into her blouse and started stroking it, according to the source.
The person, who is not authorized to comment publicly, said the woman – who is much younger than Cuomo – told the governor to stop. His broader claims include that he frequently engaged in flirting behavior with her, and that it was not the only time he touched her.
The woman’s story was revealed in the governor’s Executive Chamber on March 3, as team members attended her first press conference in the week since Lindsey Boylan published an online essay detailing her own allegations against Cuomo. At the news conference, the governor denied having touched any woman “inappropriately.”
Upon hearing these observations, the advisor was thrilled. At least one supervisor came to her assistant and asked why she was upset. The aide later told the supervisor what she said was inadequate meetings with Cuomo, the source said.
In response to the Times Union’s questions about the allegations, Cuomo on Wednesday night issued a statement to the newspaper: “As I said yesterday, I never did anything like that. The details of this report are distressing. I am not going to talk about the details of this or of any other allegation, given the ongoing review, but I am confident of the outcome of the attorney general’s report. ”
The woman’s allegations, first reported on Tuesday by the Times Union, are the most blatant complaints the governor has ever faced, as several women have come forward since December and accused him of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior.
In the most recent case, at least one of the woman’s supervisors reported the allegations to a lawyer in the governor’s office on Monday.
On Tuesday afternoon, several hours after the Cuomo office was asked about the matter by the Times Union, the governor said, “I am not aware of any other complaints,” when asked by a reporter about the new story, which was then published online. That story included a statement from his interim attorney, Beth Garvey, who said that “all allegations” of sexual harassment made against the governor were being referred to the state attorney general’s office.
“As I said last week, it is very simple: I have never touched anyone inappropriately,” said the governor on Tuesday. “I never made any inappropriate advances … (and) no one ever told me at the time that I made them uncomfortable. Obviously, there are people who said after the fact that they felt uncomfortable.”
The woman did not file a formal complaint with the governor’s office.
Attorney General Letitia James’s office is investigating several allegations of harassment against Cuomo based on a referral letter that Garvey, his lawyer, requested in a March 1 letter.
This week, James announced that the investigation will be conducted by two private lawyers: Joon H. Kim, a former US attorney for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, and Anne L. Clark, who specializes in labor law and cases. of sexual harassment.
Aides to the governor on Tuesday said the governor maintained his claims that he had never touched anyone inappropriately. They did not explain the governor’s statement that he was unaware of the latest charges against him.
The latest allegations by the woman who reported being touched by Cuomo at the governor’s mansion increased the seriousness of the accusations: The conduct she described could be considered a sexual misdemeanor.
On Wednesday morning, the attorney general’s office declined to comment in response to detailed questions about how that office, which has no legal jurisdiction over any criminal component of the case, would be treated. Garvey’s March 1 letter to the attorney general invoked a section of the Executive Law that authorizes the attorney general’s office to conduct a civil investigation with the office’s subpoena advisor, but not to pursue criminal proceedings or submit allegations to a grand jury.
If a criminal complaint is made by Boylan or the aide who claims he palpated her at the mansion, those cases could be handled by the offices of Albany County district attorney David Soares or Manhattan public prosecutor Cy Vance.
The new allegations that surfaced on Tuesday immediately intensified pressure from many lawmakers – including Democratic colleagues in Cuomo – for the governor to step down. He had previously faced calls to step down as Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and Assembly President Carl E. Heastie issued a statement on Sunday questioning Cuomo’s ability to remain an effective leader.
Republicans in the legislature were more forceful in their comments. Senate minority leader Robert Ortt on Tuesday characterized the latest claim as “a disturbing pattern of predatory behavior by Governor Cuomo, not to mention a pattern of lies and a breach of public confidence.”
The initial allegations were made by three women – Boylan, as well as Charlotte Bennett and Anna Ruch, who did not work for Cuomo, but told the New York Times last week that the governor grabbed her and tried to kiss her at a 2019 wedding. of his senior advisers, Gareth Rhodes.
Bennett told the New York Times that Cuomo, during a meeting at his Capitol office last June, talked about being alone during the pandemic and that he missed being able to hug someone. She said that Cuomo never tried to touch her. Bennett, in another interview with CBS News, also said he was alone with Cuomo at the mansion and said he had asked her investigative questions about her personal life, but did not touch her.
Debra Katz, Bennett’s lawyer, issued a statement in response to this story on Wednesday, saying the aide’s claims are “eerily similar to what Charlotte Bennett alleged”.
“Charlotte was summoned to the Capitol on a Saturday, left isolated with the governor and asked to help him with minor technical problems with his phone. Charlotte reported this behavior and the governor’s sexual proposal to her senior advisers, including her Special Advisor, Judith Mogul. In response, these advisers did not report Charlotte’s allegations to the Governor’s Employee Relations Office, as they were legally required, “continued Bennett. “If the governor’s team had taken Charlotte Bennett’s allegations and her legal obligations seriously, perhaps this woman would have been spared this sexual assault. May the governor not deny touching people, but insist that she never did it inappropriately, shows that he is committed to lighting victims gas and perpetuating those lies. That’s exactly how abusers operate. “
Over the weekend, in articles published by the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, two more women came forward and described what they characterized as Cuomo’s inappropriate behavior, including Karen Hinton, who worked with the governor for more than two decades at US Housing and Urban Development agency.