Jessica Bakeman, a reporter who said she was previously assigned to cover Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, accused him of sexual harassment in a New York Magazine article.
Bakeman’s is the seventh accusation of sexual misconduct against Cuomo. Five of the accusers are current or former New York government employees. The governor is resisting calls for his resignation from Democratic and Republican lawmakers.
“The way Cuomo operates is by daring women to make an impossible choice: endure his abuse silently or speak up and risk your career,” writes former Capitol reporter @jessicabakeman https://t.co/ZlN6lNszL3
— New York Magazine (@NYMag) March 12, 2021
Bakeman alleged Cuomo put his arm around her waist and redirected her so that the two could pose for pictures during their first meeting. Bakeman said she was covering an event for Politico New York during the incident. “I’m sorry. Am I making you uncomfortable? I thought we were going steady,” he allegedly said.
At another party, Cuomo “took my hand, pulled me into his body and put his arm around my shoulder. He left it there, and kept me pinned next to him, for several minutes as he finished telling his story,” Bakeman wrote.
Cuomo uses “touching and sexual innuendo to stoke fear in us. That is the textbook definition of sexual harassment,” Bakeman added.
One Christmas, Bakeman allegedly received a gift from Cuomo’s office. She wrote that his staffers sent “a framed mock Boy Scouts badge that instead reads ‘Cuomo Scouts.’ At the center is an image of Cuomo smiling above a banner with the words ‘In Andrew We Trust.'”
“I can speak out because I have ‘survived’ Camp Cuomo. The others are still living it,” Bakeman wrote in conclusion. Bakeman did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.
Albany police are reportedly investigating Cuomo over the sixth accusation made against him. That accuser, an anonymous staffer, alleged that Cuomo stuck his hand down her blouse and groped her at the governor’s mansion. (RELATED: TIMELINE: How Andrew Cuomo Went From America’s ‘Love Gov’ To Fending Off Calls For His Resignation In Less Than 12 Months)
Twelve members of New York’s congressional delegation, including Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, called for Cuomo’s resignation on Friday in light of the sexual harassment allegations and reports that he covered up the number of COVID-19 deaths in New York’s nursing homes.
In addition, 59 New York state Democratic representatives have also called for Cuomo’s resignation, including the two top Democrats in the state legislature. Cuomo blamed calls for his resignation on “cancel culture” in a Friday press call, and is refusing to step down. The Speaker of the New York State Assembly, Carl Heastie, authorized an impeachment investigation into Cuomo on March 11.
Cuomo did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.