Embattled New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday highly rejected claims in a bombshell report by the state Attorney General’s Office, which discovered that he had actually sexually bugged a minimum of 11 females and manage a “toxic culture” of worry and intimidation in his workplace.
“I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances,” Cuomo stated.
“I am 63 years old. I’ve lived my entire adult life in public view. That is just not who I am.”
Cuomo stated his legal representative Rita Glavin prepared a point-by-point counterclaim to the findings of the scathing report managed by Attorney General Letitia James after an examination in which he was questioned for 11 hours.
“The facts are much different than what has been portrayed,” the guv stated. “Read the facts and decide for yourself.”
He flatly rejected an accusation that he searched a lady in the workplace of his house in Albany after summoning her to the guv’s estate.
“That never happened,” Cuomo stated.
The Democratic guv likewise implicated private investigators of predisposition and indicated that the probe was contaminated by politics.
“Politics and bias are interwoven throughout every aspect of this investigation,” Cuomo stated. “One would be naive to think otherwise, and New Yorkers are not naive.”
But Cuomo likewise stated that he comprehended that he had actually acted towards some females in such a way that made them feel unpleasant. In one case, he kept in mind, The New York Times had actually run a picture on its front page of him holding a lady’s face as she grimaced.
That female took offense at his gesture, which Cuomo declared was “meant to convey warmth, nothing more.”
“For that, I apologize,” stated Cuomo. “I now understand that there are generational or cultural perspectives that frankly I hadn’t fully appreciated, and I have learned from this.”
That 85-page counterclaim by Cuomo’s legal representative bizarrely included 8 pages with images of the guv hugging different individuals, and another 15 revealing hugging including political figures consisting of President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, previous Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush, and Hillary Clinton, the previous secretary of state and U.S. senator from New York.
Glavin, because counterclaim, stated, “Regrettably, as the findings in the Report show, the investigators have directed an utterly biased investigation and willfully ignored evidence inconsistent with the narrative they have sought to weave from the outset.”
“In coming to their conclusion, they ignored the Governor’s testimony and substantial corroborating evidence, and were not candid about that fact at a press conference during which they announced their findings,” Glavin stated. “We have just received and are viewing the Report and will supplement this statement. But even on a quick first review, it is clear that the Report purposefully omits key evidence.”
Earlier Tuesday, James and private investigators detailed conclusions of the report, which instantly reignited require Cuomo to resign.
The report stated Cuomo had actually bugged females who operated in and out of state federal government, consisting of a state cannon fodder who was appointed to his individual security information.
James is likewise a Democrat and has actually been discussed as a possible prospect for guv, whether Cuomo resigns or looks for re-election next year.
Cuomo opened his action Tuesday by stating, “It has been a hard and painful period for me and my family.”
The guv stated that in action to allegations versus him, “I’ve brought in an expert to design new sexual harassment policy and procedures.”
He took no concerns from press reporters after reacting to the report in a declaration that was livestreamed by his workplace.
The report Tuesday kept in mind that Cuomo had “made specific denials of conduct that the complainants recalled clearly.”
“We found his denials to lack credibility and to be inconsistent with the weight of the evidence obtained during our investigation,” the report concluded.
“We also found the Governor’s denials and explanations around specific allegations to be contrived.”
Mariann Wang, a legal representative for 2 of Cuomo’s accusers, in a declaration called the guv’s action to James’ report “laughable.”
“He is being manipulative, as he always has been,” Wang stated. “He is not being accused of being a kindly but gentlemanly boss. And the women who experience his unwanted sexual touching are not fools, as he apparently thinks they are.”
“He is found by independent investigators to have touched women in their intimate body parts and routinely demeaned the women who work with him by treating them as sexual objects,” Wang stated.
“He touched a woman’s breast, another woman’s stomach and the back of her neck and spine, he grabbed multiple women’s backsides or buttocks. These are not charming expressions of affection. They were sexual. He knew that when he did it, and the women experienced this as unwanted sexual touching. He’s been found to have been doing this for years.”
— CNBC’s Christina Wilkie and Thomas Franck added to this report.
