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ALBANY – Assistant to Governor Andrew M. Cuomo alleges he aggressively groped her in a sexually charged manner after she was summoned to the Executive Mansion late last year, according to a person with direct knowledge of the woman’s claims.
The staff member, whose identity was not disclosed to The Times Union, had been called to the mansion on the apparent pretext of having her help the governor with a minor technical issue involving her cell phone. They were alone in Cuomo’s private residence on the second floor when he closed the door and reportedly reached under her blouse and began to stroke her, 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 allegations include that he frequently engaged in naughty behavior with her and that it wasn’t the only time he had touched her.
The woman’s story was revealed to the Governor’s Executive Chamber on March 3, as staff watched her first press conference in the week since Lindsey Boylan posted an online essay detailing her own allegations against Cuomo . At the press conference, the governor denied ever having touched women “inappropriately”.
Hearing these remarks, the female helper became emotional. At least one supervisor came to her aid and asked her why she was upset. The assistant subsequently informed the supervisor of what she said had been inappropriate encounters with Cuomo, the source said.
In response to questions from The Times Union about the allegations, Cuomo released a statement to the newspaper Wednesday evening: “As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are heartbreaking. I do not. Not going to go into the details of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the outcome of the Attorney General’s report.
Attorney General Letitia James’s office is overseeing an investigation into multiple harassment allegations against Cuomo. But the assistant’s allegations, first reported on Tuesday by The Times Union, describe the most egregious behavior attributed to the governor to date – behavior that could potentially be prosecuted as a sexual assault charge.
At least one of the woman’s supervisors reported the allegations to a lawyer in the governor’s office on Monday.
Tuesday afternoon, several hours after Cuomo’s office was questioned about the matter by the Times Union, the governor said at a press conference: “I am not aware of any other claims,” when a reporter asked him about the new story, which was then posted online. That story included a statement from his acting attorney, Beth Garvey, who said “all allegations” of sexual harassment made against the governor were referred to the attorney general’s office.
“Like I said last week, it’s very simple: I’ve never touched anyone inappropriately,” Cuomo said Tuesday. “I never made improper advances … (and) nobody ever told me at the time that I made them uncomfortable. Obviously, there were people who said afterwards they felt uncomfortable. “
The woman did not file a formal complaint with the governor’s office.
Governor’s aides said on Tuesday the governor was upholding his claims that he had never touched anyone inappropriately. They did not explain the governor’s statement that he was unaware of the latest allegation against him.
This week, the Attorney General’s Office announced that its investigation would be handled by two private attorneys: Joon H. Kim, former acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan, and Anne L. Clark, who specializes in criminal law. work and sexual harassment. case.
On Wednesday morning, the attorney general’s office declined to comment in response to detailed questions about how that office, which lacks statutory jurisdiction over a criminal element of the case, would be handled. Garvey’s March 1 referral letter to James authorizing the investigation invoked a section of executive law that empowers the Attorney General’s office to conduct a civil investigation using subpoenas, but not to pursue a criminal case or bring the allegations to a desk. grand jury.
If a criminal complaint is filed, either by Boylan or the female aide who claims Cuomo groped her at the mansion, these cases could potentially be dealt with by the offices of Albany County Attorney David Soares or the District Attorney of Manhattan, Cy Vance.
The new allegations that came to light on Tuesday immediately intensified pressure from many lawmakers – including Cuomo’s fellow Democrats – to have the governor step down. He had previously been called upon to resign from the state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker 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 remarks. Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt on Tuesday called the latest allegation a “disturbing pattern of predatory behavior by Governor Cuomo, not to mention a pattern of lies and shattered public trust.”
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 had grabbed her and attempted to kiss her while the marriage of one of his main collaborators, Gareth Rhodes.
Bennett told the New York Times that Cuomo, during a meeting in his Capitol Hill office last June, spoke of loneliness during the pandemic and that he missed being able to kiss someone. She said the governor never tried to touch her. Bennett, in another interview with CBS News, also recounted being alone with Cuomo at the mansion and said he asked him probing questions about his personal life but didn’t touch her.
Debra Katz, Bennett’s attorney, released a statement in response to this story on Wednesday night, saying the female aide allegations are “eerily similar” to Bennett’s experience.
Charlotte was called to the Capitol on a Saturday, left in isolation with the governor, and asked for help with minor technical issues with her phone. Charlotte has reported this behavior and the governor’s sexual proposition to her senior staff, including his special advisor, Judith In response, those assistants did not report Charlotte’s claims to the governor’s office of employee relations, as they were legally required, ”Katz said.
“If the governor’s staff had taken Charlotte Bennett’s allegations and their legal obligations seriously, this woman might have been spared this sexual assault,” she added. “The fact that the governor does not deny touching people, but insists he never did so inappropriately, shows that he is determined to put pressure on the victims and perpetuate these lies. This is exactly how abusers work. “
Over the weekend, in articles published by The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal, two other women came forward and described what they called inappropriate behavior from Cuomo, including Karen Hinton, who worked with the Governor over two decades ago at US Housing. and Urban Development Agency.
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