Here's a Look at the Sexual Misconduct Allegations Brought by Cuomo Employees
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing allegations that he sexually harassed or assaulted women who worked for him — now including two current staffers in his office.
The accusations range from groping under a woman’s shirt and giving unwanted kisses to asking unwelcome personal questions about sex and dating.
The Democratic governor has said he “never touched anyone inappropriately” and “never made any inappropriate advances” and that “no one ever told me at the time that I made them feel uncomfortable.” He has denied some of the allegations.
Here’s a look at the workplace allegations, in the order they became public:
LINDSEY BOYLAN, 36, a former state economic development adviser, says the governor kissed her as she was leaving a one-on-one meeting in his office and suggested playing strip poker on a state plane. Cuomo says both stories are false.
She also alleges Cuomo summoned her alone to his office after a holiday party and made what she took to be a reference to former President Bill Clinton’s affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
CHARLOTTE BENNETT, 25, a former Cuomo aide, said the governor asked her about her love life — including whether she ever had sex with older men — and talked about his own, saying that age differences didn’t matter in relationships and he was open to dating women over 22.
During a meeting in his office, the governor said he was lonely and talked about wanting to hug someone, Bennett said. She said she swiftly complained to Cuomo’s chief of staff and was transferred to another job.
She said she spoke to a lawyer for the governor, but didn’t insist on further action because she liked her new post and wanted to move on.
ANA LISS, 35, a former aide, said Cuomo asked her whether she had a boyfriend, once kissed her hand at her desk and called her by patronizing names, including “blondie,” “sweetheart” and “honey.”
At a reception, the governor hugged her then put his arm around her lower back and waist as they posed for photo, Liss said. She said she eventually asked for a job transfer.
In an interview, Liss said she was “not claiming sexual harassment per se,” but felt Cuomo’s administration “wasn’t a safe space for young women to work.”
KAREN HINTON, who worked for Cuomo when he was Clinton’s federal housing secretary in the 1990s, said Cuomo gave her an overly long and intimate hug after calling her to his hotel room for a conversation that turned to personal topics while on a business trip. Cuomo said Hinton’s account was “not true.”
A MEMBER OF CUOMO’S STAFF alleged that he closed a door, reached under her blouse and fondled her after summoning her to the governor’s mansion in Albany for help with his cellphone, according to the Times Union of Albany.
The newspaper didn’t name the woman, who said that she told Cuomo to stop groping her and that he had touched and flirted with her previously.
The woman recently informed a supervisor, and at least one of her bosses reported the allegation to a lawyer for the governor this month, according to the newspaper.
Cuomo called the report “gut-wrenching” in a statement and said: “I have never done anything like this.”
ALYSSA McGRATH, 33, a current administrative assistant in Cuomo’s office, told The New York Times on Friday that he looked down her shirt and asked her about her marital status.
McGrath didn’t say the governor made sexual contact with her but thought his behavior was sexual harassment. She recalled Cuomo kissing her on the forehead and gripping her firmly around the sides while posing for a photo at a 2019 office Christmas party.
Cuomo’s lawyer, Rita Glavin, responded by reiterating his denials of inappropriate advances and touching. She told The Times his behavior toward women was not remarkable, adding that “it may be old-fashioned.”
Meanwhile, both the New York Assembly and state Attorney General Letitia James have opened investigations into the accusations against Cuomo.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie on Friday said the body’s impeachment investigation will examine “all credible allegations” against the governor, including whether he used his office to sexually harass or assault employees.
Other subjects under investigation, Heastie said, will include whether Cuomo withheld data on COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes and his administration’s handling of safety concerns at a newly constructed bridge over the Hudson River.
Other details of the probe, including how long it will take and how public its proceedings or findings will be, are still being determined.
The pace of the inquiry has frustrated some lawmakers who want Cuomo out now.
“It’s pretty strange to me and I think that we are needing to ask a lot of questions here,” Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou, a Democrat, said. “With any kind of lack of transparency or lack of access to any process, one has to ask about the motivations and one has to ask: Why?”
An attorney for one of the accusers, Charlotte Bennett, has said she won’t cooperate with the Assembly’s inquiry because of questions about potential political interference.
Bennett and several other women who have accused Cuomo of harassment have already been interviewed by attorneys working for James.
Federal prosecutors are also scrutinizing whether Cuomo’s administration intentionally misled the public or the U.S. Justice Department about COVID-19 fatalities at nursing homes.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
