Investigation finds New York governor Cuomo sexually harassed several women

New York governor Andrew Cuomo was defiant in response to a state report that found he sexually harassed multiple women, created a “climate of fear” in his office and violated federal and state laws.

State attorney-general Letitia James said Cuomo engaged in “unwanted groping” and kissing of current and former state employees, as well as women outside of state government. He and his staff also retaliated against at least one former employee for coming forward, the attorney-general said at a press conference on Tuesday announcing a report on Cuomo’s misconduct.

“This investigation has revealed conduct that corrodes the very fabric and character of our state government and shines light on injustice that can be present at the highest level of government,” James said.

Cuomo denied the findings of James’s report in his own press conference held Tuesday afternoon. “I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances,” he said. “That is just not who I am or who I have ever been.”

The allegations have spurred news calls for Cuomo to resign, reigniting the controversy surrounding a politician who just last year was touted as a hero and a possible Democratic presidential contender. Political figures who previously reserved judgment on Cuomo, such as Representative Hakeem Jeffries, the No 3 House Democrat, said on Tuesday he should resign. Representative Elise Stefanik, the No 3 House Republican, said Cuomo should be arrested.

The attorney-general has limited authority to bring criminal charges, but James said local district attorneys and police departments could follow up on her findings and Cuomo’s victims also have the option of filing civil suits. “We’ve done our work and at this point we’re going to let the chips fall where they may,” she said.

‘Hey you’

The investigation spanned five months and examined 74,000 pieces of evidence, including e-mails, text messages and photographs that painted a “deeply disturbing yet clear picture”, said Anne Clark, one of two outside lawyers hired by the state to investigate harassment claims against Cuomo. His conduct was not just “old fashioned, affectionate behavior” but “unlawful”, she said.

In total, 11 women came forward with allegations against Cuomo. Among them was a state trooper who was part of his security detail. At one point, he ran his finger down the trooper’s spine in an elevator, saying “hey you”, said Clark.

The attorney-general, also a Democrat, has been investigating Cuomo since March after former economic development official Lindsey Boylan first levied accusations against him in December. Boylan said Cuomo kissed her on the lips in 2018 during a meeting in his office and asked her to play strip poker with him.

The report noted that Cuomo once asked executive assistant Charlotte Bennett what other people were saying about the size of his hands. Bennett “understood the governor was attempting to get her to say something about the size of his genitals”.

Cuomo also reached under Bennett’s blouse to grab her breast and on multiple occasions grabbed her buttocks, Clark said, adding that the assistant was afraid to speak out for fear that she would be fired. She told investigators she ultimately left her position due to Cuomo’s harassment.

‘Breaks my heart’

“I was scared to imagine what would happen if I rejected him so I disappeared instead,” Bennett said in a statement read by Joon Kim, the other lawyer who investigated the claims against Cuomo. “My time in public service ended because he was bored and lonely. It still breaks my heart.”

Cuomo in his press conference specifically responded to Bennett’s allegations, saying they bothered him the most. He denied her allegations but said he had engaged with her, thinking he could help her overcome trauma from a past sexual assault.”

“Charlotte, I want you to know that I am truly and deeply sorry,” Cuomo said at his press conference. “I brought my personal experience into the workplace and I shouldn’t have done that. I was trying to help, and obviously I didn’t.”

The report concluded that Cuomo and a group of advisers wrote a draft letter or op-ed to attack Lindsey Boylan, who worked as a special adviser to the governor. They are using complaints against her from a confidential file and referencing alleged interactions between her and male colleagues. The draft also included conspiracy theories about Boylan and “connections with supporters of president [Donald] Trump and a politician with an alleged interest in running for governor”, according to the report.

The governor denied the most serious allegations to investigators, “offering ‘blanket denials’ or that he had a ‘lack of recollection as to specific incidents’,” according to a statement from the attorney-general’s office.

Allegations were treated merely as threats against the governor rather than incidents that needed to be reported, Clark said. Federal and state law forbid employers from discouraging employees or former employees from bringing a claim of discrimination.

Bloomberg News. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com