New York’s Governor Andrew Cuomo inappropriately touched multiple women without consent, state report finds.
QUICK FACTS:
- The announcement came during a news conference revealing findings of an independent state probe.
- New York Attorney General Letitia James revealed an independent probe that she commissioned had found Cuomo did engage in “unwanted groping, kissing, hugging and making inappropriate comments,” according to The New York Post.
- “Governor Cuomo sexually harassed current and former state employees in violation of both federal and state laws,” said James. “The independent investigation found that governor Cuomo harassed multiple women, many of whom were young women, by engaging in unwanted groping, kisses, hugging, and by making inappropriate comments,” reports the The New York Times.
- James called it “a sad day for New York.”
- She said it was “up to Cuomo to decide whether to resign,” reports the Post.
- Cuomo’s victims said they felt “completely violated.”
- The Post reports the most serious allegation involved a current aide who says Cuomo “reached under her blouse and groped her inside his Executive Mansion office in Albany last year.”
READ THE FULL INVESTIGATION REPORT:
2021.08.03 Nyag – Investiga… by New York Post
BACKGROUND:
- The Post reports officials said Cuomo also allegedly retaliated against some of the victims and created a “toxic” and hostile work environment in the Executive Chamber.
- The probe included accusations that Cuomo, 63, sexually harassed several current and former female staffers, most of them in their 20s or 30s, notes the Post.
- Former acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said investigators gathered evidence from 11 women, nine of whom are or were state employees.
- Cuomo apologized for acting “in a way that made people feel uncomfortable,” but has denied “[touching] anyone inappropriately or engaged in other misconduct.”
- Members of Cuomo’s (Democrat) own party have called for his resignation.
