New York Attorney General Letitia James announced on Tuesday that Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed nearly a dozen women in what investigators have labeled a “pattern” of “unwelcome and nonconsensual touching.”
My statement on the independent investigation into the alleged sexual harassment claims against Governor Cuomo: pic.twitter.com/DfBC0xaI37
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) August 3, 2021
Despite the attorney general’s acknowledgment that Cuomo and his administration “broke the law,” the investigators claimed their findings were a civil matter and that any further action would fall on prosecutors and the victims to pursue.
“We have concluded our investigation,” James said. “And that work is done. As it relates to next steps, that’s entirely up to the governor and/or the assembly and the general public. The work of the Office of the Attorney General and the special deputies has concluded.”
In a report released on Tuesday, investigators used more than 74,000 pieces of evidence and testimony from 179 witnesses to conclude that the Democrat took advantage of multiple victims including “young women” by engaging in unwanted groping, kisses, hugging, and making inappropriate comments.
NY AG says "more than 74K pieces of evidence… reveal a deeply disturbing yet clear picture. Gov. Cuomo sexually harassed current and former state employees" and it was "multiple women," "many of whom were young women." "Groping, kisses, hugging" WOW!
— Eddie Scarry (@eScarry) August 3, 2021
Cuomo’s actions, the report states, were “not limited to members of his own staff but extended to other state employees including a state trooper who served on his protective detail.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo "inappropriately touched" a state trooper on his security detail:
"In an elevator, while standing behind the trooper, he ran his finger from her neck down her spine… Another time — he took his open hand and ran it across her stomach" pic.twitter.com/O9KWUnT0Ix
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 3, 2021
Despite his previous belief that Americans should “believe survivors,” Cuomo only admitted to “some incidents” but “had a different interpretation” of them, investigators said. Other accounts, investigators added, “he denied or said he didn’t recall.”
The allegations of sexual assault against Judge Kavanaugh are disturbing and deeply concerning. We owe it to the American people to #BelieveSurvivors. I call on the Senate to postpone any vote until these allegations are fully investigated.
— Andrew Cuomo (@andrewcuomo) September 24, 2018
In a detailed press conference, special investigators including U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Joon Kim also noted that Cuomo’s team of senior staffers, including secretary Melissa DeRosa, former staffers, and other “confidants,” used their influence “to attack and try to neutralize” at least one of the outspoken victims, Lindsey Boylan, “by sharing disparaging information with the press.”
“Within hours of Boylan’s December 13, 2020 tweet alleging sexual harassment, key members of the governor’s inner circle had obtained confidential memos, ones that were stamped ‘attorney-client privilege.’ They were primarily about an interaction between Ms. Boylan and an assistant. They then redacted the names of individuals, other than Ms. Boylan, and started sending the memos to reporters,” one of the investigators stated.
The investigators also confirmed that Cuomo’s administration drafted an op-ed-type letter that “attacked Ms. Boylan for alleged conduct at work, for alleged conduct with men, other than the governor, as well as postulating various political conspiracies including that Ms. Boylan was funded by far-right Republicans and supporters of Donald Trump.”
“Although the letter was never published, it was sent or read to a variety of people outside the executive chamber either to get their advice or ask them to sign their names to it and shared, ultimately, with at least one member of the press,” the investigator stated. “The governor was arguing for the release of that letter.”
In response to the report, New York Rep. Elise Stefanik called for Cuomo’s resignation and arrest and said President Joe Biden must do the same.
“No one is above the law and today justice must be served,” Stefanik said in a statement. “In December, I was the first federal official to publicly call for an independent investigation into Governor Cuomo’s sexual harassment, abuse, and assault. The independent investigation led by the Attorney General’s office confirms Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed and assaulted multiple women, including employees in his office and state troopers. The media and Democrats smeared me and closed ranks to protect Cuomo, a shameful chapter in New York history. All of them including his staff must be held to account. These brave women deserve swift and definitive justice.”
Cuomo was lauded and propped up by Democrats and members of the corporate media for his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the same attorney general who oversaw the sexual harassment investigation found that the governor’s office severely undercounted the number of COVID-related deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50 percent after mandating that elderly patients with COVID-19 who were discharged from hospitals should return to their care facilities.
Source: The Federalist
