A woman who has accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment told investigators Monday that she was concerned about talking to subordinates about her “hand size” and “what the size of her hands indicated.” hands, ”his lawyer revealed.
The prosecutor, former Cuomo aide, Charlotte Bennett, spent four hours talking through the Zoom teleconferencing software to investigators conducting an investigation into the claims of her and several other women that the Democrat sexually harassed them or that made physical comments or inappropriate comments.
The investigation is being overseen by state Attorney General Letitia James.
Bennett, 25, “detailed his allegations of sexual harassment and provided investigators with more than 120 pages of contemporary records, as well as other examples of documentary evidence, to corroborate his allegations against Governor Cuomo and his staff. superior, “his attorney Debra Katz said in a statement.
Katz said Bennett provided researchers with “detailed information about the sexually hostile work environment the governor fostered in both his Manhattan and Albany offices and his deliberate effort to create rivalries and tensions between staff women.” to whom he paid attention “.
“New information that came to light today was the governor’s concern about the size of his hands and what the large size of his hands indicated to Charlotte and other members of her staff,” Katz said.
The lawyer said the investigators “have been moving forward quickly and sensitively to get to the center of these allegations.”
“We are confident that his investigation will confirm Charlotte’s allegations of sexual harassment against Governor Cuomo, as well as the fact that his senior staff did not meet the mandatory reporting requirements under the same laws he signed,” Katz said. .
He also said that “it is imperative” that the investigation focus not only on Cuomo’s behavior toward women, “but also on the culture of fear, abuse and secrecy that he and his senior staff cultivated.” .
“To that end, we have full confidence in the investigation and the investigators. We urge other people who have been subjected to inappropriate conduct by the governor – and we know you are there – to present what you have experienced,” Katz said. “And to those who observed the behavior, we urge you to do the same.”
A lot of Democrats in the New York legislature and the state congressional delegation, including the two U.S. senators, demanded last week that Cuomo resign in the middle of his third term in light of the claims. of Bennett and other women.
Cuomo, who is also facing an investigation pending his removal from the state assembly, has repeatedly refused to do so. Cuomo’s office did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Bennett told the New York Times last month that Cuomo, 63, last year asked him questions about his sex life and whether he ever had sex with older men.
At the time, Bennett, who had played football in high school against one of Cuomo’s daughters, was working for him as an executive assistant and health policy advisor.
“I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me and he felt horribly uncomfortable and scared,” Bennett told the newspaper when he described an incident last June in which Cuomo complained about being alone and asked, “Who did I hug for the last time? “
Cuomo has said he never advanced towards Bennett or behaved inappropriately with other women.
On Monday, a new Siena College poll found that 50% of New York voters said Cuomo should not resign immediately, while 35% said he should. And 57% of voters were satisfied with how he handled the allegations.
The governor appeared the previous Monday at a Covid vaccination site on Long Island, where he was praised by officials. The extension of the sexual harassment scandal was not mentioned nor were questions from journalists allowed.
On Sunday, the Washington Post and the New York Times reported that Larry Schwartz, a former Cuomo aide who is now the tsar of the state’s Covid-19 vaccination, has been asking Democratic state leaders to support him. to Cuomo even as he discusses vaccinations with them.
Last Friday, the legal adviser to a county executive filed a preliminary complaint with the attorney general’s public integrity office about a possible violation of ethics by Cuomo’s office, The Times reported .
Several officials who spoke to The Post said they fear Cuomo’s retaliation if they speak out against him.
A county official told The Post, “I didn’t feel there was a correlation between the response I was going to give and my vaccine supply.”
“But I could see how maybe someone else had that impression,” the official added.
Schwartz, who last year lived at the governor’s mansion, said he did nothing wrong in the calls.
Beth Garvey, the governor’s acting attorney, said Monday that “the distribution of vaccines in New York is based on objective criteria to ensure it matches eligible populations, ensure equity and the ability to quickly administer shots to the arms.” .
“To be clear, Larry’s conversations did not lead to the distribution of vaccines: he would never relate political support to public health decisions,” Garvey said.
“Distorting Larry’s role or intentions for the headlines maligns a public official who for decades has done nothing but volunteer all day since March to help New York weather the COVID pandemic. Any suggestion that Larry acted in some way ethically or in any other way in the best interest of the New Yorkers he selflessly served is obviously false. “