Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment allegations

[1] On February 28, 2021, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she would hire and deputize a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the allegations.

President Joe Biden stated his support for Attorney General James's independent investigation; he later called on Cuomo to resign after the investigatory report was released.

In December 2020, Lindsey Boylan, a former aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo,[14] and then a candidate for Manhattan Borough President, accused him in a series of tweets of sexual harassment and creating a toxic environment.

[15] The New York Times published a link to Boylan's lengthy essay in Medium[16] wherein she accused Cuomo of sexual harassment and "described several years of uncomfortable interactions.

[23] In an article written by Ronan Farrow in The New Yorker, Boylan also claimed Cuomo made an inappropriate comment concerning his new dog, Captain.

In late February 2021, Charlotte Bennett, an executive assistant and health policy advisor to Cuomo, accused him of sexual harassment, which included questions about her sex life.

[28] In a March 5 video interview with CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell, Bennett said that during a one-on-one meeting in the governor's office on June 5, 2020, Cuomo implied "that I was old enough for him and he was lonely.

On March 9, 2021, the Times Union of Albany reported an anonymous member of the governor's Executive Chamber staff had accused Cuomo of inappropriate touching.

After the aide told him his behavior would "get us in trouble[sic]," Cuomo then shut the door, said "I don't care", and groped one of her breasts.

[43] On March 12, Kaitlin (last name unreported), who formerly worked for the governor's office, alleged that Cuomo had made her feel uncomfortable in various situations, with his comments, questions, requests, and invasions of her personal space.

[45] On March 12, for the New York magazine website, she wrote that Cuomo had touched her on her arms, shoulders, the small of her back, and waist in 2012, and put his arm around her back and his hand on her waist posing for a picture at a holiday party in 2014 (she wrote that "For years, I would relive that moment at the holiday party"), and made multiple "humiliating" comments during her time covering him.

On March 18, Valerie Bauman, a reporter for Bloomberg, said in a tweet that during Cuomo's tenure as New York Attorney General from 2007 to 2010, there was a period of "rampant sexism and sexual harassment."

[47] McGrath also said that the aide who alleged Cuomo sexually assaulted her in the Executive Mansion "described the encounter in detail to her after it was made public in a report in the Times Union last week."

During a March 29, 2021, Zoom news conference with an attorney, Sherry Vill alleged that Cuomo kissed her cheek in front of family members while visiting areas of Rochester damaged by a flood in May 2017.

[50] According to the August 2021 report, Cuomo met this unnamed state entity employee at an event in September 2019, where he tapped and grabbed her buttocks while they were posing for photographs.

According to the August 2021 report, Cuomo met energy company employee Virginia Limmiatis at an event in May 2017, where he touched her chest with his fingers.

[50][52] Her case was dismissed by district attorney Greggory Oakes on January 31, 2022, the last one to be dropped, effectively clearing the former governor of all criminal charges.

[53] According to the August 2021 report, other witnesses, in addition to the named complainants who came with specific instances, noted that Cuomo made comments or jokes that seemed sexual or suggestive in meetings with staff from the Executive Chamber.

[54] During the spring of 2016, Cuomo spotted a bottle on an executive assistant’s desk labeled "Skinny Bunny," with an accompanying image of rabbit ears.

In a statement on February 28, Cuomo said:I now understand that my interactions may have been insensitive or too personal and that some of my comments, given my position, made others feel in ways I never intended .

"[71] Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking on Sirius XM satellite radio, called the allegations "nauseating".

[73] The New York Republican State Committee advocated for Cuomo's impeachment in a statement released March 12, writing "If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times: we already have ample evidence that proves Andrew Cuomo is unfit to serve and anything short of a full impeachment is a complicit move to keep him as Governor.

New Jersey Senate Some supporters of Cuomo have alleged a conspiracy theory that allegations against him were motivated on the basis of ousting him in order to bring a Republican to power who would proceed to "pardon" former President Donald Trump; this despite the fact that Cuomo's resignation would result in Democratic Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul ascending to the governorship (Hochul has run on four ballot lines: Democratic, Conservative, Independence, and Working Families Party).

[79] In February 2021, Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York, announced that she would oversee an independent investigation into the accusations against Cuomo.

[84] Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple’s office would file a criminal complaint against Cuomo in connection with Brittany Commisso’s allegation.

[85] On January 4, 2022, however, Albany County District Attorney David Soares announced that he would not prosecute Cuomo and asked a Judge to dismiss the criminal complaint due to lack of evidence.

[86] On January 31, 2022, the last of the five criminal inquiries which had been pursued against Cuomo, this time involving accuser Virginia Limmiatis, was dismissed in Oswego County due to insufficient evidence.

[88] According to a recent investigation, Cuomo's sister played a significant part in attacks on women who accused her brother of sexual harassment.

[89] According to the New York Times, Madeline Cuomo spent two years working with grassroots organisers to defame her brother's accusers.

[95] Republicans successfully persuaded Lee Zeldin, a U.S. Representative from New York's 1st congressional district, to run in the gubernatorial election due to the scandals.