The governor asked New Yorkers to await the outcome of two separate investigations into the allegations of harassment, one overseen by the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, and the other by the State Assembly, before taking any decision on his behavior.
On Monday, Debra Katz, Bennett’s lawyer, said her client provided more than 100 documents and four hours of testimony to investigators who support his allegations about the governor, including that he created a “sexually hostile work environment” like part of “his deliberate effort to create rivalries and tension between the employees he paid attention to”.
Ms. McGrath believes that her proximity to the governor may have prevented other opportunities. When she sought another job in the state government in 2019, she was told that the governor’s taste in working with her would interfere with her taking the new job.
She was informed, she recalled, that “because I ‘help out in front’, I couldn’t leave”
Since other charges against Mr. Cuomo have emerged, Ms. McGrath has continued to work. She says executive offices are largely silent, a far cry from the heady days of Cuomo’s pandemic-related popularity, when Capitol corridors hummed with enthusiasm and determination.
Ms. McGrath said she attended the governor’s first press conference after Bennett went public in The Times on March 3, and that she was angry at his insistence that he never “touched anyone inappropriately”.
“I am very upset to hear him talk about it and completely deny all the charges,” she said, saying she left her without believing it. “And I have no doubt that all of these accusers are telling the truth.”
One of those accusers is your co-worker. McGrath said she feared retaliation for speaking out, but she and her co-worker were upset with themselves for tolerating Cuomo’s behavior for so long.
“She and I discussed this after the fact and now we’re like, ‘How come we didn’t see this?'” Said McGrath, still perplexed by her interactions with Cuomo. “Because it is so evident and obvious.”