Democrats move to impeach New York governor Andrew Cuomo

Andrew Cuomo faces fast-moving probe that could make him first New York governor removed from office in more than a century.

Andrew Cuomo faces a fast-moving investigation by Democrats that could make him the first New York governor removed from office in more than a century after a report concluded that he sexually harassed 11 women.

Carl Heastie, speaker of the state assembly, promised that Democrats who control the legislature would move “expeditiously” to finish their impeachment investigation, having concluded that “he can no longer remain in office”.

Cuomo also faces a possible criminal investigation led by the county prosecutor in Albany, who encouraged alleged victims to come forward. The report, compiled by the attorney-general, “led myself and other prosecutors with concurrent jurisdiction to believe that criminal activity in fact had taken place”, David Soares, the prosecutor, told NBC. A poll suggested that 59 per cent of New Yorkers felt that the governor should resign.

Cuomo, who has won three terms and planned to run for a fourth, denied the allegations, blaming them on generational and cultural misunderstandings and his habit, as an Italian-American man of 63, of hugging and kissing colleagues.

New York Attorney General Letitia James presents the findings of an independent investigation into accusations that Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women. Picture: AFP.

Rita Glavin, his lawyer, said the report “ignores facts and key evidence” and released a series of photographs of Cuomo kissing Hillary Clinton and hugging Barack Obama.

Cuomo said that he was particularly upset at claims from Charlotte Bennett, who said that his conversations with her left her in no doubt that he “wanted to sleep with me”, according to the report.

Cuomo claimed that Bennett “identified herself to me as a survivor of sexual assault” and he had sought to counsel her.

Bennett accused the governor of victim blaming, adding: “He is trying to justify himself by making me out to be someone who can’t tell the difference between sexual harassment and mentorship,” she told CBS. “I am not confused. It is not confusing.”

Cuomo was first accused of sexual harassment last year by Lindsey Boylan, 36, who set out her claims in an online essay saying that the governor once suggested a game of strip poker. The essay prompted other women to come forward including Bennett and Alyssa McGrath, a 35-year-old aide.

The report found that the governor’s chamber was “filled with fear and intimidation, while at the same time normalising the governor’s frequent flirtatious and gender-based comments”.

It found that employees of the governor’s office retaliated against Boylan, “including by disseminating to the press confidential internal documents that painted her in a negative light”.

When the complaints first emerged against Cuomo he gave a press conference apologising if he had made women feel uncomfortable, but denying that he had touched anyone inappropriately. It prompted an unnamed aide to tell colleagues that the governor had once reached under her blouse and groped her breast, the report said.

The impeachment investigation is expected to take about a month and could be followed by a trial in the state Senate. If removed, Cuomo would be succeeded by Kathy Hochul, New York’s lieutenant governor.

The Times