Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women in violation of law, AG report finds

ALBANY, N.Y. – Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women in violation of state and federal laws as well as the executive chamber's own written policies, according to a long-anticipated report Tuesday from the state Attorney General's Office.

The bombshell 136-page report released by Attorney General Letitia James's office provided corroborated accounts of harassment by the Democratic governor that included unwanted groping, kissing, hugging and inappropriate comments, including claims from one executive assistant who says Cuomo reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast.

Among those Cuomo was found to have harassed included several members of his staff, a state trooper who was part of his security detail, an energy company employee and a Department of Health doctor who administered a coronavirus test on him live on television last year.

What we know: Highlights of AG report against Andrew Cuomo: 11 women harassed, 179 witnesses interviewed

The report also contended Cuomo and his senior staff had retaliated against at least one former employee, fostered a toxic workplace that enabled the harassment and created a hostile work environment.

At a Manhattan news conference Tuesday, James said the investigation "revealed conduct that corrodes the very fabric and character of our state government."

"None of this – none of this – would have been eliminated if not for the heroic women who came forward," James said. "I am inspired by all the brave women who came forward. But more importantly, I believe them and I thank them for their bravery."

Cuomo, in a lengthy statement, responded to the report Tuesday, saying his lawyer has responded to each allegation in the report.

“The facts are much different than what has been portrayed,” he said. “I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances.”

More: Read the full report here

Cuomo investigation led by private attorneys

The investigation was led by former Acting U.S. Attorney Joon Kim and Anne Clark, a private attorney who specializes in harassment cases.

James selected the attorneys after Cuomo himself had requested the inquiry in March under pressure after multiple women accused him of harassment.

The investigation focused on claims from 11 women, some of whom had told their stories in the press and others whose stories came out for the first time in the report.

Among the instances of harassment detailed in the report:

• Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old Cuomo aide, said the governor asked her multiple inappropriate questions, including whether she had ever slept with an older man. Taken together, Bennett concluded Cuomo was propositioning her for sex. Bennett's account was corroborated by text messages to friends and family members "almost in real time," Clark said.

• A state trooper told investigators Cuomo had asked her to find him a girlfriend while she was working on the governor's security detail. She said the governor told her his criteria was someone who "can handle pain," according to the report.

• An unnamed executive assistant detailed her claim that Cuomo had reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast during a hug in November 2020 at the executive mansion in Albany, where Cuomo lives.

The executive assistant, who had told her story in the Times Union of Albany, had said she intended to take the incident "to her grave" before she watched Cuomo in a news conference this year deny ever touching anyone inappropriately.

"Anytime he touched me I felt like it was inappropriate," the woman told investigators. "He was my boss, let alone the governor of the state of New York, so I definitely felt he abused his power and definitely knew that he had this presence about him, very intimidating, no one ever told him that he was wrong nor were you told to do so."

The investigation overseen by James' office was civil in nature and concluded without taking any stance on whether Cuomo should be criminally prosecuted.

The groping accusation had been referred to the Albany Police Department in March by Cuomo's office after the executive assistant made her story known. At the time, the executive assistant did not pursue criminal charges herself. For a sexual harassment or assault case to be prosecuted, most prosecutors defer to the wishes of the accuser.

A spokesperson for Albany County District Attorney David Soares could not immediately be reached for comment early Tuesday afternoon.

Cuomo has questioned investigators' independence

In recent weeks, Cuomo had questioned the independence of the investigators. And his office has suggested James, a fellow Democrat, is interested in a run for governor herself, something James has not said publicly.

In particular, Cuomo has taken issue with Kim, who led multiple corruption investigations of the governor and his staff. That includes an investigation into the Moreland Commission, an anti-corruption panel that Cuomo abruptly disbanded. That investigation led to no charges against Cuomo.

The tweets came as Cuomo's national profile had risen to heights he had not reached before as his COVID-19 briefings at the peak of the pandemic attracted national attention.

Cuomo's behavior around women was first subject to scrutiny in December, when former aide Lindsey Boylan posted a series of cryptic tweets claiming she had been harassed by the governor.

In February, Boylan published an essay detailing his behavior, including a 2018 meeting in which she said he kissed her on the lips without consent as she left.

Boylan was followed by multiple other women who publicly shared similar stories of a governor who made inappropriate remarks and unwanted advances.

Among them was Bennett. In media interviews, Bennett said the governor asked whether she practiced monogamy and whether she had ever been with an older man. Cuomo remarked that he would be comfortable being with a woman in her 20s, she said.

Bennett believed Cuomo was propositioning her for sex.

"Without explicitly saying it, he implied to me that I was old enough for him and he was lonely," Bennett, a Westchester County native and Hamilton College graduate, said last week in an interview with "CBS Evening News."

What the investigation found

Eleven women’s accounts are included in the report, and nine of them are or were employed by New York. That includes a state trooper who was a part of his security detail, according to the report.

In all, 179 witnesses were consulted for the investigation, which has concluded and was made public in full Tuesday, James said. Investigators issued 70 subpoenas related to the documents and other information. The women's accounts were corroborated and substantiated by other witnesses, James said.

The women alleged in the report that Cuomo on multiple occasions grabbed or groped their breasts; ran and pressed his hands on various parts of their bodies, including their stomachs, backs and legs; made “sexually suggestive and gender-based” comments about their appearance; and asked them about their love lives, according to the report.

He told women they “looked great for (their) age” or asked them what they thought about monogamy, and he told them they “weren’t ready” for work if they weren’t dressed nicely or wearing makeup, according to the report.

Cuomo has denied misbehavior

Cuomo has repeatedly denied any misbehavior, saying he never touched anyone inappropriately, but he acknowledged that he can be playful and make jokes and sometimes ask his staff about their personal lives.

"I never intended to offend anyone or cause any harm. I spend most of my life at work and colleagues are often also personal friends," he said in a statement Feb. 28.

On March 3, Cuomo sought to be more contrite.

"I now understand that I acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. It was unintentional, and I truly and deeply apologize for it," he said in front of cameras at the state Capitol.

But he also vowed he had no intention of stepping down, saying, "I'm going to do the job the people of the state of New York elected me to do."

Since then, however, Cuomo has again taken a more defiant tone.

On May 13, Cuomo denied harassing anyone, claiming that "making someone feel uncomfortable" doesn't rise to that level.

"Harassment is not making someone feel uncomfortable," Cuomo said. "If I make someone feel uncomfortable, that is not harassment. That is you feeling uncomfortable."

Jon Campbell is the New York State Team editor for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at JCAMPBELL1@Gannett.com or on Twitter at @JonCampbellGAN.

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: Andrew Cuomo: State AG finds he sexually harassed women