NEW YORK — New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that an independent investigation into allegations against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has found that he did, in fact, sexually harass multiple women.
“This is a sad day for New York because independent investigators have concluded that Governor Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women and, in doing so, broke the law,” said James at a news conference. “I am grateful to all the women who came forward to tell their stories in painstaking detail, enabling investigators to get to the truth. No man — no matter how powerful — can be allowed to harass women or violate our human rights laws, period.”
The investigation was helmed by Joon H. Kim and Anne L. Clark.
Investigators concluded that Governor Cuomo did sexually harass 11 women, including former and current state employees — by engaging in unwanted groping, kissing, and hugging, and making inappropriate comments.
Their investigation lasted five months.
In December 2020, multiple women came forward with allegations that Governor Cuomo sexually harassed them. Investigators interviewed 179 individuals and more than 74,000 documents, emails, texts, and pictures were also reviewed as evidence during the investigation.
According to one account from the report, Cuomo ran “his hand across her stomach, from her belly button to her right hip,” as she held a door open.
Cuomo has repeatedly denied the allegations against him. He did publicly apologize for making the women “uncomfortable” but rebuffed calls for his resignation.
“I’m not going to resign,” he said at the time. “We have a full plate. We have Covid. We have recovery. We have rebuilding. We have a teetering New York City. We have a terrible financial picture. We have to do vaccines. So no, I’m going to do the job that people of the state elected me to do,” he said.
“That these 11 women were in a hostile and toxic work environment, and that we should believe women,” said James. She did not announce that any charges would be brought against Cuomo.
In response to today’s announcement, Cuomo cried “sexism” in a video shared on social media.
