Former New York Governor Andrew Cumo sexually harassed 13 female employees: DoJ

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo subjected at least 13 female government employees to a “sexually hostile work environment” while he was in office, the Department of Justice said Friday in a formal deal with the state’s current executive office.

Cuomo “subjected at least 13 female employees of New York state, including executive chamber employees, to a sexually hostile work environment,” the released agreement said.

“Governor Cuomo repeatedly subjected these female employees to unwelcome, non-consensual sexual contact; ogling; unwelcome sexual comments; gender-based nicknames; comments on their physical appearances; and/or preferential treatment based on their physical appearances,” it added.

Cuomo, a Democrat and the son of former governor Mario Cuomo, gained national attention in 2020 during the Covid outbreak and was rumored to be considering a run for president.

Cumo retaliated against four women who complained, DoJ finds

The Department of Justice came to the conclusion after its August 2021 investigation. It said governor’s office under Cuomo was aware of his behavior but had done little to effectively stop it.

Cuomo’s office sought to shield the governor from more charges, according to the DOJ, four of the women he harassed were targeted by his top staff.

“When employees attempted to raise concerns about Cuomo’s conduct to his senior staff,” the agreement said, “Cuomo’s staff failed to follow equal employment opportunity policies and procedures to promptly report those allegations to the appropriate investigative body. Indeed, the executive chamber’s response was designed only to protect Cuomo from further accusations.”

Cuomo’s attorney defends former governor

Speaking to CNBC, Cuomo’s attorney Rita Glavin claimed that the former governor “did not sexually harass anyone.”

“The DOJ ‘investigation’ was based entirely on the NYS Attorney General’s deeply flawed, inaccurate, biased, and misleading report,” Glavin said.

However, Kristen Clarke, who is assistant attorney general in the civil rights division, told The Guardian: “Executive chamber employees deserve to work without fear of sexual harassment and harsh reprisal when they oppose that harassment.

“The conduct in the executive chamber under the former governor, the state’s most powerful elected official, was especially egregious because of the stark power differential involved and the victims’ lack of avenues to report and redress harassment.”

Cuomo resigned in August 2021 despite his denials of any sexual misconduct complaints, following the announcement by New York Attorney General Letitia James that she considered 11 of them to be credible. Kathy Hochul, his lieutenant, took his position.

Cuomo, who is 66 years old, is defending himself against two accusers’ civil lawsuits and is “slowly manoeuvring toward re-entering political life,” according to the New York Times. But these “efforts may be sharply compromised by the justice department findings,” the Time said.

August 2021 marked the start of the federal civil rights division and the US attorney’s inquiry into the eastern district of New York.