Andrew Cuomo “credibly” accused of sexual harassment in the workplace
Remember back when Andrew Cuomo was going to save the Democratic Party by stepping in as a presidential candidate? I remember quite a bit of chatter about it way back in 2020 when his star seemed to be rising and the other candidates seemed highly flawed, even to the Democrats.
Well, what goes up sometimes must come down, and since that time Cuomo has fallen on some hard and critical times. Someone or some group has decided he is on the outs, and now there’s this:
An investigation found that Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women in and out of state government and worked to retaliate against one of his accusers, New York’s attorney general announced Tuesday in a finding that quickly renewed calls for the Democrat’s resignation or impeachment.
Cuomo remained defiant Tuesday following the investigation’s findings, saying that “the facts are much different than what has been portrayed” and appearing to reject calls to resign.
The nearly five-month investigation found that Cuomo’s administration was a “hostile work nvironment” and was “rife with fear and intimidation.” The probe, conducted by two outside lawyers, involved interviews with 179 people including Cuomo’s accusers, current and former administration employees and the governor himself.
Employment lawyer Anne Clark, who led the probe with former U.S. Attorney Joon Kim, said they found 11 accusers to be credible, noting the allegations were corroborated to varying degrees, including by other witnesses and contemporaneous text messages.
I tend to be skeptical about the word “credible” in contexts such as these, but sometimes accusations really are credible. If there are witnesses and contemporaneous texts, that lends more credence to the accusations, although it doesn’t make them true although it makes them much more likely to be true.
What are the allegations? Basically, it boils down to the idea that Cuomo is what we used to call a creep. He seems to have specialized in behavior that he might have called “playful” but with a not-especially-subtle sexual charge. For example:
The report also included an allegation from a woman who worked for an energy company who said Cuomo touched her inappropriately at an event. The woman said Cuomo ran his fingers across the lettering on her shirt, reading the name of her company aloud. Then he leaned in and said: “I’m going to say I see a spider on your shoulder,” and brushed his hand in between her shoulder and breasts, the report said…
Cuomo faced multiple allegations last winter that he inappropriately touched and sexually harassed women who worked with him or who he met at public events. One aide in his office said he groped her breast.
Another, Lindsey Boylan, said Cuomo kissed her on the lips after a meeting in his office and “would go out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs.”
After Boylan first made her allegations public in December, the Cuomo administration undercut her story by releasing personnel memos to media outlets revealing that Boylan resigned after she was confronted about complaints she belittled and yelled at her staff.
Boylan has said those records “were leaked to the media in an effort to smear me.”
Other aides have said that the governor asked them unwelcome personal questions about sex and dating. One former aide, Charlotte Bennett, said Cuomo asked if she was open to sex with an older man.
The article isn’t too clear about what the women did or said about it at the time. Cuomo has apparently admitted some of this:
In an 11-hour interview with investigators last month, Cuomo admitted to certain behavior while denying other allegations, investigators said. For example, Clark said, he conceded asking Bennett whether she had been involved with older men and said he may have kissed the state trooper at an event but denied touching her.
Asked about an allegation that he grabbed a woman’s breast at the executive mansion, according to the report, Cuomo responded: “I would have to lose my mind to do such a thing” to a woman he hardly knew with multiple staff members around..
New York has a very strict law about this, It seems from the following description that the definition of sexual harassment lies in the reaction of the complainent:
New York state regulations say sexual harassment includes unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature — from unwanted flirtation to sexual jokes — that creates an offensive work environment, regardless of a perpetrator’s intent.
And then there’s this:
Cuomo championed a landmark 2019 state law that made it easier for sexual harassment victims to prove their case in court. Alleged victims no longer have to meet the high bar of proving sexual harassment is “severe and pervasive.”
I refuse to make a prediction about whether Cuomo will survive in the political sense. He seems to have had at least nine political lives so far. But I think he finally may have used up his last one.
A most interesting afternoon in New York State, Old Andy C is in trouble and it appears as if his own party is ready to go full ‘Off With His Head’.
Good. Couldn’t happen to a worse example of humanity.
Average democrat voters won’t hear about this. Those who do will blame Trump.Richard
This may be the last straw for Cuomo. On the other hand, remember how many people, including democrats, called for Ralph Northam’s resignation, yet there he still is in Virginia’s governor’s mansion.
Since the Ds never do anything that doesn’t increase their power and standing, why are they throwing him under the bus?? What’s the end game in this scenario? He was already gone as a possible presidential candidate. Is it just to crow about the Ds “protecting women”?
Someone with more political acumen needs to help me.
Cuomo is a creep, and it appears that he signed a law making creepy behavior criminal. However, he’s a Democrat, so he may be able to avoid resigning. I hope at least this scandal will prevent him from being a senator or president.
Creepy behavior is okay with national Democrats. Look at Joe, swimming nude in front of female Secret Service agents, and getting way too familiar with women and girls in situations where they can’t really just scream or slap him.
“Average democrat voters won’t hear about this.”
It’s all over CNN’s web page, so at least the average democrat voters I know will hear about it.
Wow, he ‘worked to retaliate’. Nice touch …
“…why are they throwing him under the bus??”
Lee Smith offers one possible answer (whether it’s persuasive or not is another question):
https://twitter.com/LeeSmithDC/status/1422591907599994884
The Cuomo’s were always pseudo-masculine and that is the type that does these things. (As opposed to genuinely masculine men who are usually gentlemen.)
Notice, how Cuomo is everything the left said Trump would be.
This would go away if it were inconvenient for the Democratic Party (see Ralph Northam’s pratfalls in Virginia). James herself is devoid of real skills; her significance is that she is open about turning the Attorney-General’s staff into a political weapon. This is that with which Democratic voters in New York are content.
It’s a reasonable inference that James, the bosses in the state legislature, various and sundry lawyer-lobbyists, the Sulzbergers, the local chapters of the sorosphere, and the New York Democratic Party’s major donors have decided chattering amongst themselves Sonny is expendable. Guessing Kathy Hochul will be occupying the governor’s chair ‘ere long. She’s filler and the hive will wreck her if she doesn’t stay in her lane and stand down next year.
Re-watching House of Cards. This fits the storyline, underling setting up higher ups.
BTW, much of the behavior used to be defined as flirting. Some of those old movies have the hero stealing a kiss, getting slapped, grabs the woman for a longer kiss while she melts in his arms. These old geezers learned form those movies. Young kids now learning from porn on internet.
The Cuomo’s were always
Critics of Mario Cuomo maintained he was one odd and vindictive fellow. (Reporters would get calls from the Governor at 6:30 am complaining about coverage. One reporter later said the call he got started with “You cut my testicle off!”). Odd and vindictive he may have been. He was also very much a bourgeois Italian of a certain vintage. He was generally formal around strangers, didn’t like traveling, didn’t like living any appreciable distance from his mother, loyal to old friends, respectful of a menu of inherited norms, substantive and formal. His son is a vulgar and unpleasant man.
“His son is a vulgar and unpleasant man.” Art+Deco
His son is a mass murderer. Of far more than died on 9/11. In fact, what ‘American’ has murdered more innocents than Andrew Cuomo?
“I would have to lose my mind to do such a thing” to a woman he hardly knew with multiple staff members around..
Ah, the “master criminal” defense. If I was stupid enough to do this I would get caught. Everyone knows I am not stupid, ergo I did not do this.
Even (or should I say, especially) very smart people get complacent or arrogant, when they’ve been allowed to get away with things for a long time.
New headline: “Biden asks Cuomo to resign” for this.
I haven’t bothered to check if this is an accurate report.
@neo:I tend to be skeptical about the word “credible” in contexts such as these, but sometimes accusations really are credible. If there are witnesses and contemporaneous texts, that lends more credence to the accusations, although it doesn’t make them true although it makes them much more likely to be true.
You were almost the only blogger to explain what was wrong with the accusations against Roy Moore. He was (and is) a difficult person to defend… others defended Kavanaugh but it was essentially the same situation and the difference was because Kavanaugh was “one of them” and Roy Moore wasn’t. I started regularly following you because you saw this.
In Cuomo’s case this is not he said/she said from 30/40 years ago. This is from 2, 3, 4 years ago, including at least one photo, and not anonymous rumors leaked to reporters but official interviews with hundreds of witnesses.
Important for us to be fair, and also for us to recognize the differences. Not saying you personally haven’t. But there are degrees of “credible”, and we’re in a very different place than we were with Moore and Kavanaugh.
Frederick:
I agree that – as I indicated – the evidence seems more truly credible here.
And I still defend Roy Moore – although yes, he certainly wasn’t and still isn’t any favorite of mine. But the evidence just wasn’t good at all.
@ physicsguy “Since the Ds never do anything that doesn’t increase their power and standing, why are they throwing him under the bus?? What’s the end game in this scenario? He was already gone as a possible presidential candidate. Is it just to crow about the Ds “protecting women”?”
Started to post a comment here, then decided to combine it with the thoughts sparked by the other Cuomo thread.
https://www.thenewneo.com/2021/08/03/biden-says-governor-cuomo-should-resign/#comment-2568084