NY Governor Andrew Cuomo sorry for any ‘unwanted’ flirting

The Democratic Party governor says he had called for an independent review into the allegations.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Picture: AFP

New York governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday AEDT he was “truly sorry” if his conduct had ever been “misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation” as he faced mounting pressure over sexual harassment allegations.

Mr Cuomo has been harshly criticised, including by fellow Democrats, after former aide Charlotte Bennett told The New York Times that he sexually harassed her last year. The allegations came four days after ex-aide Lindsey Boylan described unwanted physical contact from Mr Cuomo.

He issued a statement saying that “sometimes I think I am being playful and make jokes that I think are funny... I mean no offence and only attempt to add some levity and banter to what is a very serious business”.

“I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal.”

He admitted some of his comments may have been “misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation. To the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry”. But he denied ever inappropriately touching or propositioning anyone.

Charlotte Bennett. Picture: Twitter

Mr Cuomo said he had called for an independent review into the allegations to be set up by state Attorney-General Letita James. He had earlier chosen former federal judge Barbara Jones to lead a probe, but high-profile figures in his own Democratic Party said that was insufficiently transparent.

Earlier, Senator Mazie Hirono, a Democrat from Hawaii, had joined in calls for a truly independent inquiry.

“Not the investigation that he announced himself?” an ABC interviewer asked. “I wouldn’t consider that to be independent,” replied Senatot Hirono, who regularly asks nominees seeking Senate confirmation if they have ever committed sexual improprieties.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a young liberal US representative form New York, tweeted that the “detailed accounts” of Mr Cuomo’s accusers “are extremely serious and painful to read”.

Lindsey Boylan. Picture: Facebook

According to the 25-year-old Ms Bennett, Mr Cuomo, who is 63, said in June that he was open to dating women in their 20s, and asked her if she thought age made a difference in romantic relationships, the Times reported.

While Mr Cuomo never tried to touch her, “I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” she said.

Mr Cuomo became a national figure last year with his straight-talking yet empathetic coronavirus briefings. They fuelled speculation President Joe Biden — then a candidate — might consider him as a running mate.

On Wednesday, Ms Boylan said in a blog that Cuomo had harassed her when she was working for his administration, from 2015 to 2018. The 36-year-old alleged that the governor had given her an unsolicited kiss on the lips, suggested they play strip poker and went “out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs”.

“Every woman should be heard, should be treated with ­respect and with dignity,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told CNN.

AFP