'Have I touched people? Yes': Sex scandal Governor Andrew Cuomo denies being a pest


New York Governor Andrew Cuomo hit out at the mounting allegations of sexual harassment Tuesday, firing back that ‘yes’ he has ‘touched people’ because he ‘shakes hands’ with people but denied that he has ever ‘touched anyone inappropriately’.

Cuomo was forced to shield questions about his behavior for a second day in a row Tuesday as he held a press briefing at Binghamton University where he announced that all state-run mass vaccination sites will take walk-in appointments for anyone aged 16 and over starting Thursday.

The briefing came one day after he finally held his first in-person Q&A session with the press since November and flatly denied all allegations against him.

When New York was the virus epicenter of the world last spring, Cuomo always took questions from the press as part of his daily briefings, which went to earn him an Emmy.

But the typically outspoken governor has fallen media shy in recent months, as a flurry of allegations of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior surfaced against him from multiple different women.

Now, at least nine women have come forward with accusations including three former and two current aides in his office. 

The governor has repeatedly denied the allegations saying he ‘never touched anyone inappropriately’ and ‘never made any inappropriate advances’ but has apologized for making anyone feel ‘uncomfortable.’   

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo hit out at the mounting allegations of sexual harassment Tuesday, firing back that 'yes' he has 'touched people' because he 'shakes hands' with people but denied that he has ever 'touched anyone inappropriately'

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo hit out at the mounting allegations of sexual harassment Tuesday, firing back that ‘yes’ he has ‘touched people’ because he ‘shakes hands’ with people but denied that he has ever ‘touched anyone inappropriately’

When asked by a reporter Tuesday if he touched anybody or any woman in his executive mansion, a defiant Cuomo fired back that ‘yes’ he has ‘touched people’.

‘Have I touched people? Yes,’ he said abruptly, before moving on to another question.

He then circled back to the question later to clarify that he has touched people because he ‘you shake hands’ with people but insisted he had not touched anyone in an inappropriate way. 

‘To your question ‘do you touch people?’ Of course, you touch people,’ he said.

‘I just shook hands with people etc. I didn’t touch them inappropriately.’ 

When pressed if he had inappropriately touched anyone in his office, he added: ‘I didn’t touch them inappropriately. But I just shook hands with the mayor, I just touched people.’

The most serious allegation to date against the governor has been made by a current aide, who is the only accuser to remain anonymous, who claims Cuomo groped her at the Executive Mansion late last year.

The woman shared her story publicly for the first time in an interview with Times Union of Albany earlier this month where she told how he allegedly closed her in a room with him and pulled her in for a hug before reaching under her blouse and groping her breast.   

‘I told you, I never touched anyone inappropriately,’ Cuomo said, when these allegations were put to him Tuesday.

The reporter continued to press him, asking if he did behave in the way that the woman alleges but that he may not think it inappropriate.

Cuomo was forced to shield questions about his behavior for a second day in a row Tuesday

Cuomo was forced to shield questions about his behavior for a second day in a row Tuesday

‘I have never touched anyone inappropriately, and groping would be inappropriate,’ he replied.  

Cuomo doubled down on his repeated insistence that he ‘didn’t do anything wrong’ 

He also hit out at a reporter from the New York Post saying ‘what you reported yesterday is not what I said and you know that.

‘I said I didn’t do anything wrong,’ he said.

It was not clear what report Cuomo was referring to but a Monday article by the Post reported that Cuomo had said in that day’s briefing that ‘some of his accusers just ‘want attention’ and ‘are jealous.’.’

Cuomo on Tuesday urged both the media and New Yorkers to wait to hear both sides of the story.

‘When I was in the Attorney General’s office, when I was an assistant district attorney, I used to say to my team, ‘Be careful when you only hear one side of the story,’ he said.  

‘I say to my daughters now, ‘Be careful when you’re on the other side of the story. You’ve only heard one side of the story,’ Cuomo added.

‘I said yesterday, I haven’t done anything wrong. I said from the beginning, I haven’t done anything wrong. 

‘I said to anyone who I made feel awkward or misinterpreted my comments, I apologize. But I didn’t do anything wrong. If someone felt awkward, I apologize.’

Cuomo was also asked about an allegation made by another accuser – Charlotte Bennett – that he had asked her about her experience as a survivor of sexual assault and whether he thought it was appropriate for him as a boss to ask this.  

‘Let’s get both sides of the facts and then we’ll see what you think when you hear both sides of the story,’ he said.  

Protesters gather at Washington Square Park to demand the resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in March

Protesters gather at Washington Square Park to demand the resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in March

An impeachment probe was launched by state lawmakers amid the sexual harassment and nursing home scandals

An impeachment probe was launched by state lawmakers amid the sexual harassment and nursing home scandals 

Demonstrators in New York City called on the governor to resign amid sexual assault allegations in March

Demonstrators in New York City called on the governor to resign amid sexual assault allegations in March

He also flatly denied there was any truth in recent reports that he fostered a toxic work environment in Albany and suggested there are ‘political agendas’ to the claims. 

‘No,’ he responded abruptly. 

‘I know that’s what you report that people say. Let’s get both sides of the story. I understand there are political agendas here,’ said Cuomo. 

‘I understand your agenda. Let’s get both sides of the story and then the New Yorkers can decide.’ 

Cuomo’s denials came one day after he took reporter’s questions in person for the first time in months Monday, instead taking questions only over the phone or online where his office has greater control around who is called upon and whether they can ask follow-up questions.

During Monday’s briefing he also faced multiple questions about the allegations.  

He insisted he ‘didn’t do anything wrong’ and so is not worried about the results of the State Attorney General’s investigation into the claims. 

‘The report can’t say anything different,’ he said.   

Cuomo also told reporters that he did not regret asking one of the accusers into the Executive Mansion, although he says he did nothing wrong.

‘I have many women who were working state government. I’m very proud that we probably have more women in senior positions than ever before,’ he said. ‘And I think that’s a good thing.’   

Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo aide, came out in December with allegations against him – she further detailed her experience in a February post to Medium

Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo aide, came out in December with allegations against him – she further detailed her experience in a February post to Medium

Charlotte Bennett, 25, accused Cuomo of propositioning her in his office in June

Charlotte Bennett, 25, accused Cuomo of propositioning her in his office in June 

Karen Hinton, a former press aide, alleged that Cuomo summoned her to his hotel room in 2000

Journalist Jessica Bakeman wrote about sexism and awkward encounters with Cuomo in New York magazine

Karen Hinton (left), a press aide, and Jessica Bakeman accused Cuomo of inappropriate actions

Anna Ruch, 33, said that Cuomo tried to kiss her at a wedding

Ana Liss, now 35, was an aide to Cuomo and claimed he repeatedly kissed her on the cheek and made her uncomfortable

Anna Ruch (left) and Ana Liss both accused Cuomo of inappropriate behavior

McGrath (pictured) claimed Cuomo looked down her shirt to compliment her on her necklace during a meeting with him

McGrath (pictured) claimed Cuomo looked down her shirt to compliment her on her necklace during a meeting with him

Sherry Vill shared this image of Governor Cuomo kissing her on both cheeks in 2017 when touring her house which had flooded 

Lindsey Boylan, 36, was the first woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment.

She worked for Cuomo’s team from March 2015 to October 2018 and recounted her story of sexual harassment in the series of Twitter posts. 

She then elaborated on her accusations in a February 24 blog post in which she said Cuomo once suggested a game of strip poker.  

Boylan claims the unwanted advances included an unsolicited kiss on the lips in Cuomo’s New York City office. The governor has denied these allegations. 

Charlotte Bennett, 25, became the second woman to come forward in February saying he asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life and if she ever had sex with older men and left her feeling ‘terrified’.

She said she complained to Cuomo’s chief of staff and was transferred to another job. 

A third accuser, Anna Ruch, 33, then came forward saying Cuomo put his hands on her face and asked if he could kiss her after meeting her at a September 2019 wedding.  

Karen Hinton, 62, then came forward to accuse Cuomo of an incident in 2000 where she said he summoned her to his ‘dimly lit’ hotel room and embraced her after a work event.  

Cuomo called Hinton’s allegations ‘not true’ and labeled her a ‘long-time political adversary of mine’.   

Ana Liss, 35, who previously served as Cuomo’s policy and operations aide between 2013 and 2015, then claimed the governor had subjected her to unsolicited advances, including touching her lower back, kissing her hand and quizzing her about her love life.   

The most damning allegations leveled against Cuomo to date came from his sixth accuser, whose name has not been released and continues to work in his office. 

She alleged that he closed a door, reached under her blouse and fondled her after summoning her to the governor’s mansion in Albany for help with his cellphone. 

This woman was the first current staffer to come forward with allegations.  

Emergency Medical Service workers unload a patient into their ambulance at the Cobble Hill Health Center in April. Cuomo's office is also accused of hiding nursing home death data

Emergency Medical Service workers unload a patient into their ambulance at the Cobble Hill Health Center in April. Cuomo’s office is also accused of hiding nursing home death data 

Journalist Jessica Bakeman then claimed in a first-person article for New York Magazine that she was sexually harassed by Cuomo on several occasions since the start of her career in 2012. 

A second current staffer – and the eighth accuser – then came forward. 

Alyssa McGrath, a current administrative assistant in Cuomo’s office, said Cuomo looked down her shirt, quizzed her about her marital status, and told her she was beautiful, using an Italian phrase she had to ask her parents to interpret.

McGrath also doubled down on the allegations made by her coworker – the anonymous accuser – saying the woman had told her about the incident. 

The ninth woman – Sherry Vill, 55 – then alleged Cuomo grabbed her face and kissed her ‘aggressively and in a sexual manner’ on both cheeks in May 2017 while he was touring her home in Greece, near Rochester, as he inspected local flood damage. 

The governor has said he ‘never touched anyone inappropriately’ but has apologized for making anyone feel ‘uncomfortable’.

He has blamed his tactile behavior on his Italian-American heritage. 

Cuomo is under investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James over the allegations.  

An impeachment investigation has also been launched by state lawmakers.

Cuomo has vowed he will not stand down and has called on people to await the outcome of the investigation.  

The governor is also being investigated over claims he covered up COVID-19 deaths in the state’s nursing homes. 

The women who’ve accused Gov Andrew Cuomo of harassment

Lindsay Boylan, 36 

Former aide Lindsay Boylan, 36, was the first woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment in a Medium post on February 24. She claimed that the governor asked her to play strip poker and kissed her on the lips without her permission when she worked for him in 2017. 

Lindsay Boylan, 36

Lindsay Boylan, 36

Charlotte Bennett, 25

Charlotte Bennett, 25, came forward a few days after Boylan and claimed that Cuomo sexually harassed her last June while she was working as a health policy adviser in his administration at the height of the COVID-19 crisis.

Bennett accused Cuomo of ‘grooming’ her and asking inappropriate questions about her sex life. 

She also claimed that he told her he was open to dating women in their 20s. 

BENNETT said the governor asked her about her love life – including whether she ever had sex with older men – and talked about his own, saying that age differences didn’t matter in relationships and he was open to dating women over 22. 

During a meeting alone in his office, the governor said he was lonely and talked about wanting to hug someone, Bennett said. 

She said she swiftly complained to Cuomo’s chief of staff and was transferred to another job. 

She said she spoke to a lawyer for the governor, but didn´t insist on further action because she liked her new post and wanted to move on. 

Charlotte Bennett, 25

Charlotte Bennett, 25

Anna Ruch, 33

Anna Ruch was the third woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment and the only one thus far who did not work with him in a professional capacity. She claimed that Cuomo put his hands on her face and asked if he could kiss her just moments after they met at a September 2019 wedding in Manhattan. 

Anna Ruch, 33

Anna Ruch, 33

Ana Liss, 35

Ana Liss, 35, a former aide, said Cuomo asked her whether she had a boyfriend, once kissed her hand at her desk and called her by patronizing names, including ‘blondie,’ ‘sweetheart’ and ‘honey.’ 

At a reception, the governor hugged her then put his arm around her lower back and waist as they posed for photo, Liss said. 

She said she eventually asked for a job transfer. In an interview, Liss said she was ‘not claiming sexual harassment per se,’ but felt the administration ‘wasn’t a safe space for young women to work.’ 

Liss, who previously served as Cuomo’s policy and operations aide between 2013 and 2015, told the Wall Street Journal that during her time in his administration, the governor had subjected her to unsolicited advances, including touching her lower back, kissing her hand and quizzing her about her love life. 

Ana Liss, 35

Ana Liss, 35

Karen Hinton, 62  

The oldest allegations against Cuomo came from Karen Hinton, who served as a press aide for him when he led the US Department of Housing and Urban Development two decades ago and she was a consultant for the agency. Hinton told the Washington Post about a 2000 incident when she said Cuomo summoned her to his ‘dimly lit’ hotel room and embraced her after a work event. She said she tried to pull away from Cuomo when he pulled her back and held her before she managed to escape the room. 

Karen Hinton, 62

Karen Hinton, 62

Unnamed sixth accuser

The most damning allegations leveled against Cuomo to date came from a sixth accuser, whose name has not been released. 

The accuser, who is a member of Cuomo’s staff, alleged that he closed a door, reached under her blouse and fondled her after summoning her to the governor’s mansion in Albany for help with his cellphone, according to the Times Union of Albany. 

It first reported on her accusation last month; she then gave more detail in her first interview on the matter, published Wednesday. 

The woman spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her privacy, although her identity is known within the governor´s circle, the Times Union reported.

The woman, an executive assistant, told the Times Union the governor gave her kisses on the cheek and inappropriately tight hugs for years and made remarks including, ‘If you were single, the things that I would do to you’ and ‘I’m single and ready to mingle.’

Then, one day in November, she was summoned to his Executive Mansion office to help him with a cellphone problem, she said. 

He got up from his desk, started groping her and told her ‘I don’t care’ after she tried to deflect him by saying he was going to get them into trouble, and then he slammed the door, she said.

Then he reached under her blouse and clutched one of her breasts over her bra, she told the newspaper.

The woman told a colleague this winter about the alleged encounter, and the co-worker told a supervisor in early March, according to the newspaper.

Cuomo called the report ‘gut-wrenching’ in a March statement and said: ‘I have never done anything like this.’ 

Another female aide, who has remained anonymous, claimed he called her to his Executive Mansion last year, reached under her blouse and fondled her

Another female aide, who has remained anonymous, claimed he called her to his Executive Mansion last year, reached under her blouse and fondled her

Jessica Bakeman

Jessica Bakeman claimed in a first-person article for New York Magazine that she was sexually harassed by Cuomo on several occasions since the start of her journalism career in 2012.

Bakeman added her voice as the seventh accuser as she detailed inappropriate touching by the governor as he continued to deny all of the claims.

‘He took my hand, as if to shake it, then refused to let go,’ Bakeman wrote of an interaction with Cuomo as she said goodnight at a holiday party in 2014 when she was only 25 years old.

‘He put his other arm around my back, his hand on my waist, and held me firmly in place while indicating to a photographer he wanted us to pose for a picture.’

At the time Bakeman had been working for what is now Politico New York and claimed that red flags went up as her ‘job was to analyze and scrutinize him’.

‘I didn’t want a photo of him with his hands on my body and a smile on my face,’ she wrote.

Jessica Bakeman, a reporter who once covered the Cuomo administration, was the seventh woman to come forward with claims of harassment

Jessica Bakeman, a reporter who once covered the Cuomo administration, was the seventh woman to come forward with claims of harassment

‘But I made the reflexive assessment that most women and marginalized people know instinctively, the calculation about risk and power and self-preservation. I knew it would be far easier to smile for the brief moment it takes to snap a picture than to challenge one of the most powerful men in the country.’

In an earlier 2012 incident while she was working for USA Today, Bakeman also claims that Cuomo kept her pinned to his side as he told a story to her male colleagues.

‘He left it there, and kept me pinned next to him, for several minutes as he finished telling his story,’ she said. ‘I stood there, my cheeks hot, giggling nervously as my male colleagues did the same. We all knew it was wrong, but we did nothing.’

The reporter, who now works in Florida, claimed that Cuomo ‘never let me forget I was a woman’ as she also alleged that he made frequent attempts to humiliate her, including calling out her purple phone instead of answering her question during a press gaggle.

Alyssa McGrath, 33

McGrath, a current administrative assistant in Cuomo’s office, told The New York Times that he looked down her shirt, quizzed her about her marital status, and told her she was beautiful, using an Italian phrase she had to ask her parents to interpret.

McGrath didn’t say the governor made sexual contact with her but thought his behavior was sexual harassment. 

She recalled Cuomo kissing her on the forehead and gripping her firmly around the sides while posing for a photo at a 2019 office Christmas party.

Alyssa McGrath (pictured) is one of two aides who have come forward to accuse the governor of harassment

Alyssa McGrath (pictured) is one of two aides who have come forward to accuse the governor of harassment

Sherry Vill, 55 

Sherry Vill, 55, accused Cuomo of sexual misconduct during a press conference with her attorney Gloria Allred on Monday. 

She alleges Cuomo grabbed her face and kissed her ‘aggressively and in a sexual manner’ on both cheeks in May 2017 while he was touring her home in Greece, near Rochester, as he inspected local flood damage.

Vill, who said she felt uncomfortable at the time, shared an image her daughter took on the day that showed Cuomo holding her face as he kissed her cheek and her attorney held up multiple photos showing the Governor inside her home. 

The same photos appear on Cuomo’s Flickr account, as well as multiple others that show him kissing and greeting residents as he toured the town.

None of the women in the other photos have accused the governor of inappropriate behavior or wrongdoing.   

Sherry Vill, 55, accused Cuomo of sexual misconduct on Monday.  Vill, who said she felt uncomfortable at the time, shared an image her daughter took on the day that showed Cuomo holding her face as he kissed her cheek

Sherry Vill, 55, accused Cuomo of sexual misconduct on Monday.  Vill, who said she felt uncomfortable at the time, shared an image her daughter took on the day that showed Cuomo holding her face as he kissed her cheek

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