NYAG report says Cuomo sexually harassed women; he responds in video message

“This is a sad day for New York because independent investigators have concluded that Governor Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and, in doing so, broke the law,” James said. “I am grateful to all the women who came forward to tell their stories in painstaking detail, enabling investigators to get to the truth. No man — no matter how powerful — can be allowed to harass women or violate our human rights laws, period.”

About the probe

Starting in December 2020, multiple women came forward with allegations that Cuomo sexually harassed them, per the attorney general’s news release.

As the probe continued, the investigators interviewed 179 individuals. Those interviewed included complainants, current and former members of the executive chamber, state troopers, additional state employees, and others who interacted regularly with Cuomo. Investigators reviewed more than 74,000 documents, emails, texts, and pictures as evidence during the investigation.

Backed up by corroborating evidence and credible witnesses, the investigators detail multiple current or former New York state employees or women outside state service who were the targets of harassing conduct on the part of the governor.

As part of the investigation, Cuomo also sat with the interviewers and answered questions under oath.

While the governor denied the most serious allegations, the investigators found that he did so by offering “blanket denials” or that he had a “lack of recollection as to specific incidents.” The investigators also found that the governor’s recollection “stood in stark contrast to the strength, specificity, and corroboration of the complainants’ recollections, as well as the reports of many other individuals who offered observations and experiences of the governor’s conduct.”  

Additionally, the investigators found that the executive chamber was “rife with fear and intimidation” that not only “enabled the above-described instances of harassment to occur,” but also “created a hostile work environment overall.”

Further, Cuomo and those in the executive chamber engaged in “retaliatory” behavior by “intend[ing] to discredit and disparage” a former employee that came forward with her story of harassment.

Cuomo responds

Gov. Andrew Cuomo responded to the report in a video broadcast that lasted about 13 minutes on the state’s website Tuesday afternoon. The following is a portion of his comments.

“First, I want you to know directly from me that I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances. I am 63 years old. I’ve lived my entire adult life in public view. That is just not who I am, and that’s not who I have ever been. There is one complaint that has been made that bothered me most. That was a complaint made by a young woman, Charlotte Bennett, who worked in my office. And it’s important to me that you fully understand the situation. Charlotte worked in my office last year as an assistant. She was smart, talented, and eager to learn. She identified herself to me as a survivor of sexual assault. She said that she came to work in my administration because of all the progress we had made in fighting sexual assault. She talked about the personal trauma that she endured and how she was handling it. I could see how it had affected her. I could see her pain. People now ask me why I was even talking to this young woman if I knew she was dealing with such issues. Why did I even engage with her. That is the obvious and fair question and one I have thought a lot about. The truth is that her story resonated deeply with me. I had heard the same story before with the same ugliness. The same injustice. The same damage. Not only had I heard the story before, I had lived with the story before. My own family member is a survivor of sexual assault in high school. I have watched her live and suffer with the trauma. I would do anything to make it go away for her. But it never really goes away. I spent countless days and nights working through these issues with her and therapists and counselors. I’m governor of the state of New York, but I felt powerless to help and felt that I had failed her. I couldn’t take the pain away. I still can’t. And this young woman brought it all back. She’s about the same age. I thought I had learned a lot about the issue from my family’s experience. I thought I could help her work through a difficult time. I did ask her questions I don’t normally ask people. I did ask her how she was doing and how she was feeling. And I did ask questions to try to see if she had positive support of dating relationships. I know too well the manifestations of sexual assault trauma and the damage that it can do in the aftermath. I was trying to make sure she was working her way through it the best she could. I thought I had learned enough and had enough personal experience to help her. But I was wrong. I’ve heard Charlotte and her lawyer, and I understand what they are saying. But they read into comments that I made and draw inferences that I never meant. They ascribe motives I never had, and simply put, they heard things that I just didn’t say,” Cuomo said.

Calls for resignation

U.S. Senate Majority Leaders Charles Schumer (D–N.Y.) and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D–N.Y.) released a joint statement Tuesday calling on Cuomo to resign:

“As we have said before, the reported actions of the Governor were profoundly disturbing, inappropriate, and completely unacceptable. Today’s report from the New York State Attorney General substantiated and corroborated the allegations of the brave women who came forward to share their stories — and we commend the women for doing so.

“The New York State Attorney General has conducted an independent, thorough and professional investigation that found the Governor violated state and federal law, had a pattern of sexually harassing current and former employees, retaliated against at least one of the accusers, and created a hostile work environment.

“No elected official is above the law. The people of New York deserve better leadership in the governor’s office. We continue to believe that the Governor should resign.”

U.S. Representative John Katko (R–Camillus) also issued the following statement calling on Cuomo to resign.

“The report detailed by [New York State] Attorney General Letita James confirms that Governor Cuomo abused his office by engaging in a pattern of sexual harassment and retaliation. The Governor created a hostile and intolerable work environment and broke federal law, as well as the state law he enacted. Officials at all levels of government have a duty to prevent this type of horrific conduct. Instead, Governor Cuomo enabled it. For his inexcusable and egregious conduct, Governor Cuomo must resign.”