On Monday, a sixth woman came forward to accuse New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, according to reports.
An official close to the matter told the Times Union that the female aide alleged Cuomo, 63, inappropriately touched at the governor’s mansion last year. As of Tuesday, the accuser has not been publicly identified, but the news outlet reported that the woman was at the mansion at the time for work-related purposes.
An aide reportedly said the governor’s office learned of the sixth accuser’s allegations on Monday. Meanwhile, Cuomo told reporters on Tuesday that he was unaware of the latest round of accusations, according to the news outlet.
“First, I’m not aware of any other claim,” he reportedly said. “As I said last week, this is very simple, I never touched anyone inappropriately … no one ever told me at the time that I made them feel uncomfortable. Obviously, there are people who said after the fact that I made them uncomfortable.”
Allegations began mounting in late February when Cuomo’s former aide, Lindsey Boylan, detailed her alleged encounters with the governor in a Medium blog post. She wrote that Cuomo, 63, “abused his power” to sexually harass her and other women in the workplace.
Boylan also recounted an instance in which Cuomo allegedly suggested they play strip poker aboard a private plane in October 2017.
Boylan, who reportedly first encountered Cuomo in January 2016, alleged he would touch her lower back, legs, and arms. Boylan wrote that she resigned in September 2018 because Cuomo’s top aides became hostile towards her for “speaking up for myself.” She said her resignation was also influenced by an instance in which Cuomo kissed her on the lips at his New York City office.
Since Boylan’s blog post was published, five more women, including at least three aides, have come forward and accused Cuomo of sexual harassment. Cuomo has denied inappropriately touching anyone but apologized for behaving in a manner that made his female colleagues uncomfortable.
News about the sixth accuser comes a day after Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay announced plans to have Cuomo impeached. While Barclay said he has drafted a resolution, he and his fellow Republicans cannot make the Democratic-majority Assembly address the measure.
Cuomo said on Sunday that he would not resign, even as he faces increasing backlash for allegedly sexually harassing multiple female aides and manipulating COVID-19 data to mislead the public about how many people died in nursing homes.
On Sunday, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, publicly called for Cuomo’s resignation.
Barclay said on Monday, “If they [state Democrats] really believe in resignation, why not start impeachment?”
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[Featured image: Andrew Cuomo/Office of the NY Governor via AP]
