Handsy Andy Cuomo, governor of New York, is handsier than we thought. Much handsier.
Albany’s Times-Union revealed last night that the encounter between Cuomo and his sixth accuser at his executive mansion was more than just a touch, as previously reported. Cuomo, the newspaper reported, reached under the captive woman’s blouse and grabbed her breast.
The latest charge appears to be the most serious against the disgraced governor. Uninvited fondling would be a Class A misdemeanor in New York.
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Even worse for the governor, 59 Empire State legislators say he must resign. Now.
The Latest
Citing “a person with direct knowledge of the woman’s claims,” the capital city newspaper offered more details about what must have been a horrifying encounter.
“The staff member, whose identity is being withheld by the Times Union, had been called to the mansion under the apparent pretext of having her assist the governor with a minor technical issue involving his mobile phone,” the newspaper reported:
They were alone in Cuomo’s private residence on the second floor when he closed the door and allegedly reached under her blouse and began to fondle her, according to the source….
The additional details describe the most egregious behavior attributed to the governor to date — conduct that could potentially be pursued as a misdemeanor sexual assault charge.
The newspaper’s source said the woman, much younger than Cuomo like all his victims, told him to stop. And “her broader allegations include that he frequently engaged in flirtatious behavior with her, and that it was not the only time that he had touched her.”
But the woman spoke with a supervisor after watching Cuomo defend himself in a news conference on March 3. When Cuomo denied touching any woman “inappropriately,” the Times-Union reported, the woman couldn’t stay silent:
Hearing those remarks, the female aide became emotional. At least one female supervisor came to her assistance and asked why she was upset. The female aide subsequently told the supervisor about what she said had been inappropriate encounters with Cuomo, the source said.
Cuomo’s Crime
If the claim is true, Cuomo is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor called “forcible touching.”
The state code says “a person is guilty of forcible touching when such person intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose,”
1. forcibly touches the sexual or other intimate parts of another person for the purpose of degrading or abusing such person, or for the purpose of gratifying the actor’s sexual desire; or
2. subjects another person to sexual contact for the purpose of gratifying the actor’s sexual desire and with intent to degrade or abuse such other person while such other person is a passenger on a bus, train, or subway car operated by any transit agency, authority or company, public or private, whose operation is authorized by New York state or any of its political subdivisions….
Forcible touching includes squeezing, grabbing or pinching.
Of course, Cuomo claims he did nothing. “As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching,” he told the newspaper.
I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney general’s report.
Five Others
Though the latest accuser remains unidentified, the other five don’t. They are Ana Liss, Karen Hinton, Anna Ruch, Charlotte Bennett, and Lindsey Boylan.
Cuomo has said he will not resign, despite pressure from the state’s top Democrats, but now he appears to have no choice. Just today, 59 Democrats in the state legislature — 40 assemblymen and 19 senators — said Cuomo had to go. Politico reported that state Democrats are meeting today to discuss Cuomo.
“In light of the Governor’s admission of inappropriate behavior and the findings of altered data on nursing home COVID-19 deaths he has lost the confidence of the public and the state legislature, rendering him ineffective in this time of most urgent need,” they said:
We have a Lieutenant Governor who can step in and lead for the remainder of the term, and this is what is best for New Yorkers in this critical time. It is time for Governor Cuomo to resign.
The 59 Democrats represent 40 percent of the bicameral legislature’s blue contingent.
This week, Republicans drafted an impeachment resolution.
