Cuomo accuser says governor turned away a female hire who wasn't 'pretty enough'

Cuomo accuser says governor turned away a female hire who wasn't 'pretty enough'
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Jake Dima
·3 min read
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A former aide who has accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment said the Democrat reportedly refused a female hire for not being "pretty enough."

Karen Hinton, who once worked as part of Cuomo's press team when he led the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said Cuomo turned down a former congressional staffer who "had a very good understanding of Capitol Hill politics and policy."

“She came in for an interview, and I sat in since I had recommended her, and he said to me after, 'No, I don’t think so,'" she told the New York Post of the unidentified female rejected hire.

“I asked, 'Why?' He said, 'She's not pretty enough. I don't like the way she looks,'" she added.

'HE BROKE THE LAW': FORMER CUOMO AIDE WHO FILED CRIMINAL COMPLAINT REVEALS IDENTITY

Hinton previously alleged the governor became "aroused" when he hugged her "too tightly" and for "too long" at a Los Angeles hotel in 2000. She also accused the governor of "laughing" about former President Bill Clinton's sexual scandal with Monica Lewinsky, an incident that led to impeachment proceedings in 1998.

"I remember him laughing about the Monica Lewinsky situation, not because he didn't believe her — he did — but because he thought it was funny," she said. "There were jokes made about it because of the cigars."

Hinton, who hasn't worked for Cuomo in years, is only briefly mentioned in New York Attorney General Letitia James's explosive report, as the investigation focused mainly on the governor's behavior while he was in his current role. Before assuming his post, Cuomo once served as the state's attorney general.

James's investigation concluded that Cuomo repeatedly engaged "in unwelcome and nonconsensual touching," after which he and members of his office engaged in "retaliatory" behavior by "intend[ing] to discredit and disparage" some women who sought to report their experiences.

Cuomo has repeatedly denied all allegations of misconduct in separate statements both before and after the release of the findings. His office called Hinton a "known antagonist" in at least one rebuttal in March 2021.

"This did not happen," a spokesperson for the governor said when Hinton's inappropriate hugging claims surfaced. "Karen Hinton is a known antagonist of the Governor's who is attempting to take advantage of this moment to score cheap points with made-up allegations from 21 years ago. All women have the right to come forward and tell their story — however, it’s also the responsibility of the press to consider self-motivation. This is reckless.”

James's office refused to pursue criminal charges against Cuomo when she went public with her results earlier in the month, though she left the option open to local municipalities that review the evidence themselves. District attorneys in Albany and Westchester counties have since announced they are initiating investigations of a criminal nature into Cuomo, and one accuser, Brittany Commisso, has filed a criminal complaint herself.

She revealed her identity in a taped interview on Sunday.

"It was the right thing to do," Commisso said regarding her decision to contact law enforcement in a snippet of a segment with CBS This Morning, which was released in its entirety on Monday. "The governor needs to be held accountable."

"What he did to me was a crime," she said. "He broke the law.”

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A chorus of top Democrats have since called for or renewed demands for the governor to step down, including New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Kirsten Gillibrand. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were also among several others who called for Cuomo's resignation.

Cuomo, who has continually resisted calls to resign, released a defiant video statement following James's report, saying he will not step down because the allegations of inappropriate touching are false.

Washington Examiner Videos

Tags: News, Andrew Cuomo, Sexual Harassment, New York, Bill Clinton, Monica Lewinsky, Gender Issues, Labor

Original Author: Jake Dima

Original Location: Cuomo accuser says governor turned away a female hire who wasn't 'pretty enough'

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