New York, United States | New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, was swamped Tuesday with the results of an independent investigation, accusing him of sexually harassing several women and creating a culture of fear within his administration.
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“An independent investigation has concluded that Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed several women, thereby violating federal and state law,” New York State Attorney Letitia James said during a news conference, adding that among the victims were “former and current” state officials. .
When asked if he should resign, she said: “The decision is up to the governor of New York State. The report speaks for itself.” However, Letitia James clarified that the case was “of a civil nature with no consequences at the criminal level.”
“Unwanted kisses and hugs”, “inappropriate comments”, inappropriate gestures, the list of acts attributed to the ruler, in force since 2010 and at the age of 63, is a tyrant. His team soon announced that the governor, who had previously refused to resign and denied the charges, would respond at 1 p.m.
But calls for resignation did not last long. “The governor’s behavior confirmed by this report is inconsistent with someone who complies with this job,” responded very quickly the leader of the New York State House of Representatives Democrats, Carl Hesty, who had already released the governor over the issue.
“There are eleven complaints whose allegations are presented in great detail in the report. Nine of them are employees or employees of the state of New York or a state entity,” said one of the independent investigators, John Kim, who was speaking alongside Letitia James.
“Reprisals”
According to the results of the investigation, the governor and his staff “took retaliatory measures against at least one employee for his testimony.”
“The governor’s executive team has fostered a toxic work environment that has made harassment and a hostile work environment possible,” the attorney general’s office added.
Joon Kim summed up: “It was a culture where you couldn’t say no to the ruler.”
Detectives heard Andrew Cuomo at length on July 17.
Veteran politician Andrew Cuomo became a character during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many recognized his skill and understanding in handling the situation when New York and its region were the epicenter of the crisis in the spring of 2020.
Some even pushed Andrew Cuomo, the governor’s son and former cabinet minister and friend of Joe Biden, to run for the White House.
But a year later, his first accusations of sexual harassment weakened his situation.
Former economic advisor Lindsey Boylan claimed that the governor unwelcomely kissed her on the mouth and suggested that she play poker with him when she was working with him between 2015 and 2018. Then another former aide, Charlotte Bennett, claimed that the governor had given her some accomplishments that made her “Uncomfortable” in the spring of 2020.
A few days later, Anna Roach, 33, who had never worked with him, told the New York Times that he “shocked” her by wanting to kiss her against her will at a wedding in 2019.
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