Former Cuomo staffer who accused governor of groping files criminal complaint

• A former staffer for embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who previously told investigators that he touched her backside as they took a selfie photo together, has filed a criminal complaint against the Democrat, a sheriff's office said.
• The Albany County District Attorney's Office, which already was investigating Cuomo in connection with at least one other allegation of sexual harassment, since has been notified of the woman's complaint, according to The New York Post.
• The newspaper reported that the woman who made that complaint was identified earlier this week as "Executive Assistant #1" in a damning official report on Cuomo issued by state Attorney General Letitia James.

A former staffer for embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who previously told investigators that he groped her has filed a criminal complaint against the Democrat, an upstate sheriff's office said.

The Albany County District Attorney's Office, which already was investigating Cuomo in connection with at least one other allegation of sexual harassment, since has been notified of the woman's claims by that county's sheriff, according to The New York Post.

The newspaper first reported that she had lodged her complaint Thursday afternoon with the Albany County Sheriff's Office.

Cuomo could be arrested if the DA determines there is probable cause to believe the woman's claim.

The woman who made that complaint was identified earlier this week as "Executive Assistant #1" in a damning report on Cuomo's alleged sexual harassment of nearly a dozen women issued by state Attorney General Letitia James, according to a spokesperson for Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple, who spoke with NBC News.

"The end result could either be it sounds substantiated and an arrest is made and it would be up to the DA to prosecute the arrest," Apple told The Post.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment by CNBC.

CNBC has reached out for comment from the Albany County DA's office, which would prosecute any case stemming from the complaint, if charges are lodged. At least three other DA offices, in Manhattan and in Nassau and Westchester counties, have asked James for investigative materials collected as part of the probe of Cuomo.

The investigation by lawyers retained by James concluded that Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women who work or had worked for the state and elsewhere, retaliated against one of the accusers, and presided over a toxic office culture laden with fear and intimidation.

The report describes instances of women touching women in ways that made them feel uncomfortable, and making comments that likewise unsettled them.

"Executive Assistant #1" is the first woman whose claims against Cuomo are described in detail in the James report.

That report says that "since approximately late 2019, the Governor engaged in a pattern of inappropriate conduct with an executive assistant ("Executive Assistant#1"), who is a woman."

" That pattern of conduct included: (1) close and intimate hugs; (2) kisses on the cheeks, forehead, and at least one kiss on the lips; (3) touching and grabbing of Executive Assistant #1's butt during hugs and, on one occasion, while taking selfies with him; and (4) comments and jokes by the Governor about Executive Assistant #1's personal life and relationships, including calling her and another assistant "mingle mamas," the report said.

Cuomo also asked the woman "multiple times about whether she had cheated or would cheat on her husband, and asking her to help find him a girlfriend," according to the report

"These offensive interactions, among others, culminated in an incident at the Executive Mansion in November 2020 when the Governor, during another close hug with Executive Assistant #1, reached under her blouse and grabbed her breast," the report said.

"For over three months, Executive Assistant #1 kept this groping incident to herself and planned to take it "to the grave," but found herself becoming emotional (in a way that was visible to her colleagues in the Executive Chamber) while watching the Governor state, at a press conference on March 3, 2021, that he had never "touched anyone inappropriately," according to the report.

"She then confided in certain of her colleagues, who in turn reported her allegations to senior staff in the Executive Chamber."

The report also described another incident, on Dec. 31, 2019, when Executive Assistant #1 was helping Cuomo in his office at the Executive Mansion in Albany "when the Governor asked her to take a "selfie" photograph with him."

"Governor Cuomo stood next to Executive Assistant #1, on her left, as she took a selfie with her right hand," the report said. "As Executive Assistant #1 held up the camera, the Governor moved his hand to grab her butt cheek and began to rub it. The rubbing lasted at least five seconds."

Cuomo, who is in his third term, has strongly denied sexually harassing any woman, including Executive Assistant #1.

But in the days since James' report was issued, the governor has appeared to lose virtually all of his remaining political defenders.

President Joe Biden and New York's two U.S. senators, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as many other Democrats and the head of the party in New York have all called on Cuomo to resign.

A top state Assembly committee warned Cuomo this week it would soon conclude an impeachment inquiry into his conduct, and asked him to give that panel any evidence for the probe.

Cuomo is expected to be impeached in coming months.

Please check back for updates.

Source: Read Full Article