A woman claiming to be a former staff member to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has levied more allegations of sexual harassment against the governor, calling the advances “calculated.”
The Times Union published an interview with the woman on Wednesday, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, detailing her experiences with the governor in his mansion.
The woman told the Times Union that the governor had groomed her while in his mansion in what she described as a “pattern” of behavior that ranged from “tight hugs” to “kisses on the cheek.”
The staffer recalled how in November, @NYGovCuomo called her from the Capitol to the executive mansion.
She said that when she arrived in Cuomo’s office, he rose from his desk and hugged her in a way that “wasn’t just a hug.”https://t.co/3VP1qWxvDr
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) April 7, 2021
“Sometimes he would pull my whole body close to him. I remember purposely, like, taking my pelvis and pulling away. … I knew what he was doing.” The anonymous woman said during the interview.
The woman stated that the governor would ask probing and inappropriate questions, which she said only intensified in late 2019.
She also recanted an experience when the two took a selfie in his office.
“As the phone is up I feel him, like, not just sliding his hands, he’s like rubbing my butt cheek, but not saying anything. That was the first blatant move.” The woman told the Times Union. (RELATED: ‘Highly Improper’: Cuomo Interfering With Sexual Harassment Probe, Victim’s Lawyer Says)
The governor then warned the woman, according to the Times Union, to not “tell a soul or tell anyone” about the interaction.
.@TimesUnion: “In her own words: Woman describes Gov Cuomo’s alleged groping at mansion”https://t.co/WOgSPy1UvC
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) April 8, 2021
Cuomo has faced numerous sexual misconduct allegations, including a current aide who came forward in March, accusing the governor of looking down her shirt and making suggestive comments. Another woman recently accused the governor of grabbing and kissing her in her own home.
Cuomo has repeatedly denied the allegations levied against him and, despite pressure from Democrats, has refused to step down from the governorship as a state investigation into the allegations continues.