(ALBANY, N.Y.) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is embroiled in the biggest scandal of his career following accusations from a slew of women of inappropriate behavior.
Several women — including Anna Ruch, 33; Lindsey Boylan, 36; and Charlotte Bennett, 25 — have come forward to accuse the governor of unwanted advances.
The allegations are only adding to Cuomo’s political woes as his administration is under investigation for its handling of nursing home deaths during the pandemic.
His fall from public grace comes after he emerged early in the pandemic as a star among Democratic leaders for his handling of the coronavirus crisis.
Dec. 13, 2020
Boylan, a former aide to Cuomo, was the first to accuse the governor of sexual harassment and kissing her against her will.
In December, she wrote a series of tweets sharing her allegations for the first time.
She tweeted, “Yes [Cuomo] sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched.”
“I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks,” she continued. “Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years.”
At the time, the governor denied the accusations.
“I believe a woman has the right to come forward and express her opinion and express issues and concerns that she has,” Cuomo said in December. “But it’s just not true.”
Feb. 24
Boylan expanded on the allegations in a Medium piece in which she accused Cuomo of acting inappropriately with her when she worked for the state’s economic development agency.
Boylan said she first encountered the governor in January 2016 and her boss at the economic development agency informed her Cuomo had a “crush” on her.
In October 2017, Boylan alleged that Cuomo invited her to play strip poker as they were on a government plane together.
One year later, Boylan said she was promoted to deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to the governor, a position she initially turned down “because I didn’t want to be near him.” She ultimately accepted following Cuomo’s insistence.
She also alleged that Cuomo kissed her on the lips without warning on one occasion in 2018 at his New York City office.
“As I got up to leave and walk toward an open door, he stepped in front of me and kissed me on the lips,” Boylan wrote. “I was in shock, but I kept walking.”
She resigned in September of that year.
“There is a part of me that will never forgive myself for being a victim for so long, for trying to ignore behavior that I knew was wrong,” Boylan said. “The Governor exploited my weaknesses, my desire to do good work and to be respected. I was made to believe this was the world I needed to survive in. … It was all so normalized … that only now do I realize how insidious his abuse was.”
When approached by The New York Times for comment on her claims, Cuomo’s press secretary, Caitlin Girouard, dismissed them as “quite simply false.”
Feb. 27
Bennett came forward to share her account to the Times in a story published Feb. 27.
She accused Cuomo of sexual harassment, alleging he asked questions about her sex life.
Bennett, who was first hired by Cuomo’s administration in early 2019, worked as an executive assistant and health policy adviser until November when she left his office.
Bennett alleged that on June 5 she was alone with Cuomo in his state Capitol office when he allegedly asked her questions about her personal life that she interpreted as insinuating a sexual relationship.
She claims he asked her if she thought age made a difference in romantic relationships, whether she was monogamous in her relationships and if she ever had sex with older men.
In that June meeting, she said Cuomo made her uncomfortable when he allegedly complained about being lonely in the pandemic and said he “can’t even hug anyone” and asked, “Who did I last hug?”
“I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared.” Bennett told the Times. “And I was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was the end of my job.”
She said she shared what happened with Cuomo’s chief of staff, Jill DesRosiers, and was transferred less than a week later to another job within the administration in a different part of the Capitol. She also said she gave a statement to a special counsel to the governor that same month.
In the end, Bennett said she decided against pushing an investigation because she liked her new job and “wanted to move on.”
In response to her allegations, Cuomo stated in a press release: “I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate. The last thing I would ever have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported.”
Cuomo said Bennett was a “valued member” of his staff with “every right to speak out” and he disclosed that Bennett had spoken to him about being a survivor of sexual assault.
Bennett left state government in the fall and now lives and works in a neighboring state.
The same day Bennett’s account was published, the governor named former federal judge Barbara Jones to conduct a review of the claims. However, the move faced backlash and state leaders demanded an independent probe.
Feb. 28
Cuomo bent to pressure and asked New York Attorney General Letitia James for a formal referral to create a special counsel with subpoena power to investigate the claims against him.
He issued a statement Sunday saying, “I never intended to offend anyone or cause any harm.”
He added that some of his comments “may have been insensitive or too personal,” “made others feel in ways I never intended” and “have been misinterpreted as unwanted flirtation.”
“To be clear I never inappropriately touched anybody and I never propositioned anybody and I never intended to make anyone feel uncomfortable, but these are allegations that New Yorkers deserve answers to,” he said.
That same day, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has clashed with the governor in the past, issued a statement denouncing Cuomo’s alleged behavior, saying, “the State legislature must immediately revoke the Governor’s emergency powers that overrule local control.” He called for two fully independent investigations into the personal misconduct allegations and deaths at nursing homes.
New York state Sen. Alessandra Biaggi also denounced the governor’s behavior, telling ABC News his alleged behavior was “inappropriate.” She had called on the governor to resign on Feb. 27.
“It’s abusive and it scares people because it’s terrifying and the governor of New York should not be acting that way,” Biaggi said.
March 1
The New York Times published an account of alleged misconduct from Ruch. Unlike Boylan and Bennett, she did not work with Cuomo.
She met him at a wedding reception in New York City in September 2019 and alleged Cuomo placed his hands on her bare lower back and face and “asked if he could kiss her.” She also shared a photo of the alleged incident with the paper.
She said the incident left her “uncomfortable and embarrassed” and she felt she “didn’t have a choice in that matter.” Cuomo ended up kissing her on the cheek, according to Ruch.
James also announced on Monday that her office would begin an independent investigation, which included subpoena power, into allegations of sexual harassment against the governor. James’ office told ABC News Monday evening it read Ruch’s account in the Times and will decide whether to incorporate it into the just-launched investigation.
March 2
Rep. Kathleen Rice has become the first New York Democrat in Congress to join mounting calls for Cuomo to resign in wake of the allegations.
Six Democratic state lawmakers also called for Cuomo to be impeached.
In a statement shared with ABC News, the lawmakers said Cuomo used his power to “belittle, bully and harass his employees and colleagues” and impeachment proceedings “are the appropriate avenue” for accountability. It further states Cuomo’s withholding of information in regards to nursing home deaths is “sufficient to justify impeachment proceedings.”
The New York Attorney General’s Office opted to incorporate Ruch’s account into the ongoing investigation into Cuomo, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News.
The attorney general’s office will not limit the scope of the probe in case additional allegations surface. At the end of the investigation, a public report will be released.
By evening, the State Assembly and State Senate prepared a bill to curb Cuomo’s emergency powers granted during the pandemic. It will still allow Cuomo to extend existing emergency directives related to the pandemic, but repeal other emergency powers.
“The legislation introduced today will repeal the temporary emergency powers immediately, while allowing executive actions critical to public health to remain,” state officials said in a statement.
March 6
Karen Hinton, a former press aide to Cuomo, claimed he behaved inappropriately with her when she worked as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Her account was published by The Washington Post on March 6.
She claimed Cuomo, summoned her to his dimly lit hotel room in Los Angeles and told the Post he embraced her with a “too long, too tight, too intimate” hug after a work event in December 2000.
Hinton, who was married at the time, claimed she pulled away from Cuomo, “but he pulled her back toward his body,” according to the Post.
“I thought at that moment it could lead to a kiss, it could lead to other things, so I just pull away again, and I leave,” Hinton said to the Post.
Hinton’s second husband, Howard Glaser, worked for Cuomo at HUD. He served as a top deputy to Cuomo in the governor’s mansion for five years.
Also, on Saturday, a fifth woman, Ana Liss, who served as a policy and operations aide to Cuomo from 2013 to 2015, came forward with allegations against Cuomo that were published by The Wall Street Journal.
She said the governor asked her if she had a boyfriend, called her sweetheart, touched her on her lower back at a reception and once kissed her hand as she rose from her desk.
“It’s not appropriate, really, in any setting,” Liss said to the Journal.
Cuomo’s director of communications, Peter Ajemian, denied Hinton’s account to the Post, saying: “This did not happen. Karen Hinton is a known antagonist of the Governor’s who is attempting to take advantage of this moment to score cheap points with made up allegations from 21 years ago,” Ajemian said. “All women have the right to come forward and tell their story — however, it’s also the responsibility of the press to consider self-motivation. This is reckless.”
March 9
The Albany Times-Union reported that a sixth woman, a current member of the governor’s Executive Chamber staff, accused Cuomo of inappropriate conduct.
The staffer, who has not been named, accused the governor of inappropriately touching her late last year during an encounter at the governor’s mansion after she had been summoned there to do work.
She had not filed a formal complaint with the governor’s office. Her claims were recently reported to the governor’s counsel by other Executive Chamber employees, the Times-Union reported.
Cuomo said he was unaware of the sixth claim against him during a Tuesday call with reporters.
“I’m not aware of any other claim. As I said last week, this is very simple. I never touched anyone inappropriately. As I said last week I never made any inappropriate advances. No one ever told me at the time I made them feel uncomfortable,” Cuomo said.
On Wednesday, he followed that up with a statement, saying, “As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the Attorney General’s report.”
March 11
New York state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Thursday that the Assembly Judiciary Committee would begin an impeachment investigation.
“After meeting with the Assembly Majority Conference today, I am authorizing the Assembly Judiciary Committee to begin an impeachment investigation, led by Chair Charles D. Lavine, to examine allegations of misconduct against Governor Cuomo,” Heastie said in a statement. “The reports of accusations concerning the governor are serious. The committee will have the authority to interview witnesses, subpoena documents and evaluate evidence, as is allowed by the New York State Constitution.”
“I have the utmost faith that Assemblymember Lavine and the members of the committee will conduct an expeditious, full and thorough investigation,” he added. “This inquiry will not interfere with the independent investigation being conducted by Attorney General James.”
The investigation would be the first step in a bid to impeach the governor. But while the Assembly investigation may start the legislature down the path toward impeachment, it also has a stalling effect. It gives the Assembly speaker control of the process and staves off calls for an immediate resolution.
New York Attorney General Letitia James said the Assembly investigation will not conflict with the one her office is leading.
“Today’s action by the New York state legislature will have no bearing on our independent investigation into these allegations against Governor Cuomo. Our investigation will continue,” she said in a statement.
At least 121 members of the state Assembly and Senate, including 65 Democrats and 56 Republicans, have said Cuomo should resign, according to a count by The Associated Press.
March 12
Jessica Bakeman, who worked as a part of the Capitol press corp while working for Politico New York in 2014, accused Cuomo of behaving inappropriately with her in a first-person piece for The Cut published March 12.
She claimed that during a 2014 holiday party at the Executive Mansion, Cuomo grabbed her hand and refused to let go. Instead he “put his other arm around my back, his hand on my waist, and held me firmly in place while indicating to a photographer he wanted us to pose for a picture.”
He allegedly said to her, “Am I making you uncomfortable? I thought we were going steady.” She was 25 at the time.
She wrote: “I never thought the governor wanted to have sex with me. It wasn’t about sex. It was about power. … He wanted me to know that he could take my dignity away at any moment with an inappropriate comment or a hand on my waist.”
“The way Cuomo operates is by daring women to make an impossible choice: endure his abuse silently or speak up and risk your career,” she added.
The governor’s attorney did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment on this allegation. But Cuomo has generally denied any of the new allegations against him and urged the public to wait for the results of the attorney general’s investigation.
March 18
Bloomberg reporter Valerie Bauman tweeted on March 18 that she observed “rampant sexism and sexual harassment” during Cuomo’s tenure as New York Attorney General, from 2007 to 2010, when she covered Albany for The Associated Press. She was 25 at the time.
She said Cuomo never touched her inappropriately or said anything she felt she could report to her boss, but “he did make me uncomfortable, as did a lot of men in Albany.”
She said the current governor “did appear to take an interest in me.”
During one press conference in 2007 he made “unwavering eye contact.” After the event he “beelined” for her. “He took my hand, entered my personal space and looked into my eyes as he announced, ‘Hello, I’m Andrew Cuomo,'” Bauman wrote.
Shortly after that meeting, a Cuomo staffer called her and asked if she had interest working for the attorney general’s office. She declined.
Cuomo’s lawyer did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment on Bauman’s claims.
March 19
Alyssa McGrath, 33, was the first current Cuomo employee to come forward.
In a March 19 piece in The New York Times, she claimed Cuomo would ogle her body, remark on her looks, call her beautiful in Italian and make suggestive comments to both her and another executive aide.
She did not accuse the governor of making sexual contact with her, but she told the Times she believed his actions amounted to sexual harassment.
McGrath said the anonymous current aide who accused Cuomo of groping her in the Executive Mansion, as reported by the Times-Union, described the encounter to her. She said the aide told her the governor asked her to not talk about the alleged incident.
Cuomo’s lawyer, Rita Glavin, responded to McGrath’s allegations to the Times by saying that Cuomo “has greeted men and women with hugs and a kiss on the cheek, forehead, or hand. Yes, he has posed for photographs with his arm around them. Yes, he uses Italian phrases like ‘ciao bella.'”
“None of this is remarkable, although it may be old-fashioned. He has made clear that he has never made inappropriate advances or inappropriately touched anyone,” she added.
McGrath’s lawyer told ABC News: “The governor’s deflections are not credible. This was not just friendly banter. Ms. McGrath understands the common phrase ‘ciao Bella.’ As she herself says: ‘I would not call my parents to find out what that phrase means. I know what that phrase means.'”
March 29
Another woman, Sherry Vill, 55, came forward on March 29 in a press conference with attorney Gloria Allred with allegations that the governor inappropriately touched and kissed her in 2017.
Cuomo met with her during a tour of flood damage near her town in Greece, New York, Vill said. The governor took her by the hand, pulled her in and kissed her on both cheeks, Vill said.
“That’s what Italians do, kiss both cheeks,” the governor allegedly told Vill.
Vill described the incident as being “manhandled” and called the encounter “uncomfortable.” She said that she was afraid to come forward sooner because she feared retaliation.
She said she was not pressing charges or filing suit for this incident but was planning to meet with the state attorney general to discuss the matter.
Allred shared photos of Vill with Cuomo from the tour and a screenshot from a video where Cuomo appears to kiss Vill’s cheek.
“During times of crisis, the governor has frequently sought to comfort New Yorkers with hugs and kisses,” Glavin said. “As I have said before, the governor has greeted both men and women with hugs, a kiss on the cheek, forehead or hand for the past 40 years.”
April 7
On April 7, the female aide who alleged Cuomo groped her inside the Governor’s Mansion in November discussed the alleged incident with the Albany Times-Union.
The woman, a current aide to the governor who’s remained anonymous, claimed Cuomo “groomed her” for two years with a pattern of tight hugs and kisses on the cheek.
She said that one time he said to her, “Oh, if you were single, the things that I would to do you,” she told the newspaper.
The woman said to the paper that she was summoned to the mansion on a weekday in November last year to help Cuomo with an iPhone problem. When she reached his office on the second floor, he allegedly rose from his desk and groped her.
“That wasn’t just a hug,” she said. “He went for it and I kind of like was, ‘Oh, the door is right there.’ … I was mortified that a woman who works here is going to come in and see. … I was terrified of that happening, because that’s not who I am and that’s not what I’m here for.”
She said she told him, “You’re going to get us in trouble” and he allegedly proceeded to slam the door and said, “I don’t care” and he approached her a second time. This time he “reached under her blouse and his hand was grasping one of her breasts over her bra,” she said.
She said she didn’t remember telling him “stop,” but she did tell him, “You’re crazy,” which led him to finally stop.
“It definitely was a hit to his ego,” she told the paper. “And then it was almost like instantly he was done. … He turned around and walked back to his desk. He didn’t say anything. I walked myself out to the front door and nothing was said.”
A month after the incident, he allegedly told her to stay silent about the encounter.
She said she interpreted those comments as a threat. “I was a liability, and he knew that,” she said.
Rita Glavin, Cuomo’s attorney, told ABC News in response to this allegation, “The people of New York know the governor — he has spent 40 years in public service and in the public eye. He has repeatedly made clear that he never made inappropriate advances or inappropriately touched anyone.”
“The attorney general’s review of this claim and others, including evolving details and new public statements by complainants or their surrogates, must be thorough, fair and provide the truth,” she added.
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky and Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.
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