Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, probe finds

NEW YORK — An probe recovered that Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed aggregate women wrong and extracurricular authorities authorities and worked to retaliate against 1 of his accusers, New York’s lawyer wide announced Tuesday successful a uncovering that is definite to renew calls for the Democrat’s resignation oregon impeachment.

The astir five-month investigation, conducted by 2 extracurricular lawyers who spoke to 179 people, recovered that the Cuomo medication was a “hostile enactment environment” and that it was “rife with fearfulness and intimidation.”

People interviewed included complainants, existent and erstwhile members of the enforcement chamber, State troopers, further authorities employees and others who interacted regularly with the governor.

“These interviews and pieces of grounds revealed a profoundly disturbing yet wide picture: Gov. Cuomo sexually harassed existent and erstwhile authorities employees successful usurpation of national and authorities laws,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said astatine a property league connected Tuesday.

James said her probe has concluded. There were nary referrals to transgression prosecutors, though that wouldn’t preclude section authorities from utilizing the grounds and findings of the study to equine their ain cases.

On astatine slightest 1 occasion, the probe found, Cuomo and his elder unit worked to retaliate against a erstwhile worker who accused him of wrongdoing. Cuomo was besides recovered to person harassed women extracurricular of government, the probe found.

The study besides detailed, for the archetypal time, allegations that Cuomo sexually harassed a pistillate authorities trooper connected his information detail. It said that the politician ran his manus oregon fingers crossed her tummy and her back, kissed her connected the cheek, asked for her assistance successful uncovering a woman and asked wherefore she didn’t deterioration a dress.

“These brave women stepped guardant to talk information to powerfulness and, successful doing so, they expressed religion successful the content that though the politician whitethorn beryllium powerful, the information is adjacent much so,” Joon Kim, 1 of the lawyers starring the investigation, said astatine the property conference.

Investigators said they recovered each 11 women were credible, noting that their allegations were corroborated to varying degrees, including by different witnesses and contemporaneous substance messages.

Cuomo faced aggregate allegations past wintertime that helium inappropriately touched and sexually harassed women who worked with him oregon who helium met astatine nationalist events. One adjutant successful his bureau said helium groped her breast.

Another, Lindsey Boylan, said Cuomo kissed her connected the lips aft a gathering successful his bureau and “would spell retired of his mode to interaction maine connected my little back, arms and legs.”

After Boylan archetypal made her allegations nationalist successful December, the Cuomo medication undercut her communicative by releasing unit memos to media outlets revealing that Boylan resigned aft she was confronted astir complaints she belittled and yelled astatine her staff.

Boylan has said those records “were leaked to the media successful an effort to smear me.”

Other aides person said that the politician asked them unwelcome idiosyncratic questions astir enactment and dating. One erstwhile aide, Charlotte Bennett, said Cuomo asked if she was unfastened to enactment with an older man.

“Some suffered done unwanted touching, and grabbing of their astir intimate assemblage parts. Others suffered done repeated offensive, sexually suggestive, oregon gender-based comments,” Kim said Tuesday. “A fig of them endured both. None of them welcomed it. And each of them recovered it disturbing, humiliating, uncomfortable and inappropriate.”

Last wintertime determination was a chorus of calls for Cuomo’s resignation from galore apical elected Democrats successful New York, including 2 U.S. senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand. But Cuomo refused to discontinue and has been raising wealth for a 4th word successful office.

His presumption connected the allegations has besides hardened into 1 of defiance. Cuomo has ever denied touching anyone inappropriately, but helium initially said helium was atrocious if his behaviour with women was “misinterpreted arsenic unwanted flirtation.” In caller months, he’s taken a much combative tack, saying helium did thing incorrect and questioning the motives of accusers and critics.

He has besides questioned the neutrality of the lawyers hired by the lawyer wide to analyse the allegations. Kim, was progressive successful erstwhile investigations of corruption by radical successful Cuomo’s medication erstwhile helium was a national authoritative successful Manhattan. Cuomo hasn’t expressly said wherefore helium believes that would marque Kim biased.

In the hours starring into James’ announcement, Cuomo’s bureau issued galore property releases including the completion of mixed-use lodging successful Buffalo plans to physique a caller $3.9 cardinal terminal astatine Kennedy Airport and JetBlue’s determination to support its office successful New York. As James was speaking, Cuomo’s publicists sent retired a merchandise astir reclaiming the sites of aged powerfulness plants.

The lawyer general’s study is expected to play an important relation successful an ongoing enquiry successful the authorities Assembly into whether determination are grounds for Cuomo to beryllium impeached.

The Assembly hired its ain ineligible squad to analyse Cuomo’s conduct, positive different allegations of wrongdoing. The legislature is looking into the assistance Cuomo got from elder aides to constitute a publication astir the pandemic, peculiar entree that Cuomo relatives got to COVID-19 investigating past year, and the administration’s determination to withhold immoderate information connected nursing location deaths from the nationalist for respective months.

Some members of the judiciary committee person said they expect James’ study to beryllium “critical” for the impeachment investigation.

New York authorities regulations accidental intersexual harassment includes unwelcome behaviour of a intersexual quality — from unwanted flirtation to intersexual jokes — that creates an violative enactment environment, careless of a perpetrator’s intent.

The governor, successful contrast, has repeatedly argued that helium did not mean to harass anyone. His bureau has said helium took the state’s mandated intersexual harassment training, but has not provided immoderate documentation proving helium did.

Cuomo championed a landmark 2019 authorities instrumentality that made it easier for intersexual harassment victims to beryllium their lawsuit successful court. Alleged victims nary longer person to conscionable the precocious barroom of proving intersexual harassment is “severe and pervasive.”