Report: Cuomo groped aide in gov’s residence
ALBANY, N.Y. — An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he groped her in the governor’s residence, a newspaper reported Wednesday, in the most serious allegation made yet by a series of women against the embattled Democrat.
The Times Union of Albany reported that the woman, whom it did not name, was alone with Cuomo late last year when he closed the door, reached under her shirt and fondled her. The newspaper’s reporting is based on an unidentified source with direct knowledge of the woman’s accusation. The governor had summoned her to the Executive Mansion in Albany, saying he needed help with his cellphone, the newspaper reported.
“I have never done anything like this,” Cuomo said through a spokesperson Wednesday.
“The details of this report are gut-wrenching,” Cuomo said, adding that he would not speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation, given an ongoing investigation overseen by the state attorney general.
The three-term governor faces harassment allegations from several other women and increasingly urgent calls for his resignation or impeachment from at least some fellow Democrats. Cuomo has repeatedly said he won’t resign.
“He’s openly said he will not resign. And with further mounting allegations that are deeply credible, we are in a position now where I think we should impeach,” said Assembly member Jessica González-Rojas, a Democrat who had previously pushed for his resignation.
The woman whose account was reported by the Times Union said Cuomo had touched her and made flirtatious comments on multiple occasions. According to the newspaper, her allegations came to light as Cuomo staffers watched the governor’s March 3 news conference, his first after a new round of sexual harassment claims made in late February.
In it, he denied ever touching a woman inappropriately. The aide subsequently became emotional, and told a female supervisor who approached her about her encounters with the governor.