The Albany Times Union reported that the woman, whose name has not been released, was alone with Cuomo last year when he closed the door, reached under his shirt and stroked it. The newspaper report is based on an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the woman’s accusation. The governor summoned her to the Executive Mansion in Albany, saying she needed help with her cell phone, the newspaper reported.
“I never did anything like that,” Cuomo said through a spokesman on Wednesday night.
“The details of this report are distressing,” said Cuomo, adding that he would not speak about the details of this or any other allegation, due to an ongoing investigation overseen by the state attorney general.
The three-term governor faces charges of harassment by several other women and increasingly urgent calls for resignation or impeachment by at least some Democrats. Cuomo said several times that he would not resign.
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“He said openly that he would not resign. And with new growing allegations that are deeply credible, we are now in a position where I think we owe impeachment,” said Congresswoman Jessica González-Rojas, a Democrat who had previously defended his resignation.
The woman whose report was reported by the Times Union said that Cuomo had touched her and made flirtatious comments on several occasions. According to the newspaper, his allegations came to light while Cuomo officials attended the governor’s press conference on March 3, the first after a new round of sexual harassment charges in late February.
In it, he denied having touched a woman inappropriately. The advisor was later moved and told a supervisor who approached her about her meetings with the governor. At least one supervisor reported the allegation to a lawyer in the governor’s office on Monday, the newspaper reported.
Prior to Wednesday’s report, the allegations against Cuomo included a combination of claims that he made the workplace an uncomfortable place for young women, ranging from flirtatious comments to a non-consensual kiss.
At least five accusers – Charlotte Bennett, Lindsey Boylan, Anna Liss, Karen Hinton and the last accuser – worked for the governor in Albany or during his time in President Bill Clinton’s office. Another, Anna Ruch, told The New York Times that she met Cuomo at a friend’s wedding.
Bennett’s lawyer, Debra Katz, said in a statement released on Wednesday night that the latest allegations are “eerily similar” to the former aide’s own story.
Bennett, 25, said she was summoned to the Capitol over a weekend and left alone with Cuomo, who asked for help with his cell phone. She said Cuomo asked about her sex life and whether she would be open to a relationship with an older man. Bennett did not claim that Cuomo tried to touch it.
“The governor’s sexual harassment, reported by Charlotte Bennett, was buried by his aides and was never properly investigated,” said Katz’s statement. “Because of her training, another young woman was left in danger.”
Cuomo denied having touched anyone inappropriately, but said he was sorry if he bothered anyone and had no intention of doing so.
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State Attorney General Letitia James assembled an investigation team to investigate Cuomo’s conduct in the workplace. The governor asked lawmakers and the public to await the results of that investigation. Federal investigators are also examining how their administration handled data regarding COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes.
Cuomo has been under fire for weeks, beginning with revelations that his government has withheld details from the public about the number of deaths from the pandemic among residents of state asylums. The governor’s scrutiny – which received praise during the height of the coronavirus pandemic for a leadership that won a book contract and calls for a national political career – intensified when former adviser Boylan, 36, reiterated the allegations of harassment made in December, revealing them in a blog post in late February.
It was unclear how much the latter allegation would further undermine Cuomo’s support in the legislature. Although several state lawmakers from both parties have called for Cuomo’s resignation or impeachment, most have indicated that they will await the conclusion of the investigation.
“How can we allow this man to rule our state? We owe impeachment,” Democratic Assembly member Zohran Kwame Mamdani tweeted on Wednesday night.
Republican Assembly member Mike Lawler on Twitter called Cuomo “a sexual predator” who should be accused.
Both lawmakers had previously called for Cuomo’s impeachment.
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