Cuomo accused by fourth female aide of inappropriate behaviour

The New York Democrat governor told reporters that he was unaware of the claim, as calls grow for his resignation.

New York Governor Andrew at a vaccination site on Tuesday. Picture: AFp

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office has received a complaint from another female employee alleging inappropriate behaviour and referred it to investigators conducting a review of sexual-harassment accu­sations against him, according to sources.

The Albany Times-Union first reported the new complaint. The complainant, who wasn’t named by the paper and still works in the governor’s office, accused Mr Cuomo of touching her inappropriately late last year at the Executive Mansion in Albany, according to the Times-Union. The person familiar with the matter confirmed that was the allegation in the complaint.

Mr Cuomo, a Democrat, told reporters during a Tuesday conference call that he was unaware of the claim.

He said he never touched anybody inappropriately or made any inappropriate advances. Nobody ever told him at the time that his actions made them feel uncomfortable, he said.

The latest accuser is the fourth woman who worked for the governor to accuse him of inappropriate behaviour or sexual harassment.

State Attorney-General Letit­ia James’s office is overseeing an investigation into the allegations. On Monday, she named Joon Kim, a former federal prosecutor, and employment lawyer Anne Clark to conduct the probe.

The Attorney-General’s office declined to comment on Wednesday. The governor said people should withhold judgment until the independent review of the harassment allegations by Ms James’s office is completed.

Beth Garvey, Mr Cuomo’s acting counsel, said: “All alle­gations that we learn of directly or indirectly are going promptly to the investigators appointed by the attorney-general.”

The accusations have left Mr Cuomo politically isolated and led to a growing number of calls from Democrats and Republicans for his resignation.

Last week, former aide Ana Liss, 35, told The Wall Street Journal that in 2014, Mr Cuomo asked if she had a boyfriend and once kissed her hand when she got up from her desk near his ­office at the State Capitol in ­Albany.

Another former aide, Charlotte Bennett, 25, recently said the 63-year-old governor asked her about her sex life during a June encounter at the capitol.

Mr Cuomo has responded to Ms Liss’s and Ms Bennett’s accounts by saying he often has personal banter with his staff.

He has apologised if his statements were misinterpreted and made anyone uncomfortable.

Lindsey Boylan, a former economic development adviser, said in February Mr Cuomo kissed her on her lips after a 2018 meeting in his Manhattan office and said “Let’s play strip poker” during an October 2017 trip on a state airplane.

Mr Cuomo has denied the allegations. Four aides to the governor previously said in a statement that they were on the flights with Mr Cuomo and Ms Boylan and those conver­sations didn’t take place.

State legislators are at odds over whether to wait for the outcome of the outside review of the accusations or take further steps to sanction Mr Cuomo.

Republicans in the state Assembly have introduced a resolution calling for a Cuomo impeachment based on harassment allegations as well as concerns over the state’s handling of COVID-19 in nursing homes.

State Senate majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat from Yonkers, called for Mr Cuomo’s resignation on Sunday. Democrats who dominate the state Assembly have issued various statements. Some support impeachment, some believe the governor should resign, others, including majority leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes, said Ms James should have time to conduct her review.

Senate minority leader Robert Ortt, a Republican from Niagara County, said the latest allegation “highlights a disturbing pattern of predatory behaviour by Governor Cuomo, not to mention a pattern of lies and broken public trust”.

The Wall Street Journal