San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Cuomo accusers subpoenaed in critical phase
ALBANY, N.Y. — Four women who have accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment have received subpoenas to testify under oath, the latest indication that the state attorney general’s investigation into Cuomo’s behavior has entered a critical phase.
The issuing of the subpoenas, which was expected, underscores the investigation’s progress beyond an initial fact-finding phase, during which lawyers interviewed multiple women at length but not under oath.
The attorney general, Letitia James, has not set a deadline for releasing the findings of her office’s inquiry, which began in early March, but it will almost certainly be completed by summer’s end, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
In the past few months, outside lawyers hired by James have requested troves of state records and have held hourslong preliminary interviews with several of the women now being asked to testify under oath. Joon Kim, a former federal prosecutor, and Anne Clark, a prominent employment lawyer, who are overseeing the inquiry, have led the interviews.
Clark has been delving into the specifics of the sexual harassment accusations. Kim is examining closely whether Cuomo or his aides broke any laws, destroyed documents or other evidence, or sought to retaliate against the governor’s accusers or interfere with the investigation in any way. The investigators are also looking into whether Cuomo and members of his staff followed the appropriate processes for dealing with sexual harassment, the two people said.
Charlotte Bennett, a former aide to the governor who says Cuomo, 63, made sexual advances when they were alone in his Albany office, is expected to provide testimony under oath in the next two weeks, her lawyer, Debra Katz, said.
A female staff member who accused Cuomo of groping her in the Executive Mansion in Albany has also been subpoenaed, her lawyer said. (The woman has not been publicly identified.)
Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, also received a subpoena, her lawyer said. Ana Liss, a former administration official who accused Cuomo of making her feel uncomfortable, said she had also gotten a subpoena.
Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing.
On Thursday, he said that making someone “feel uncomfortable” was not harassment, a statement that would appear to be at odds with a law he signed in 2019. That law says sexual harassment consists of unwanted advances or sexually explicit remarks that are “offensive or objectionable to the recipient” or “cause the recipient discomfort or humiliation.”
“If I just made you feel uncomfortable, that is not harassment; that is feeling uncomfortable,” Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, said. “I never said anything I believed was inappropriate. I never meant to make you feel that way.”
The issuing of the subpoenas comes as Republicans and, privately, some Democrats criticize an impeachment investigation by a state Assembly committee, with some lawmakers describing it as an attempt to buy the governor time as he faces calls for his resignation.