New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faces another allegation of sexual harassment, this time from a woman currently working in his office. Alyssa McGrath, a 33-year-old executive assistant, told The New York Times that Cuomo looked at her body inappropriately and commented on her looks.
His lawyer, Mariann Wang, confirmed that McGrath reported to the Times.
McGrath, who does not work directly for Cuomo, said the interactions began shortly after she was hired in mid-2018. The following year she was with Cuomo in her office when she allegedly made a comment to him in Italian. He later asked his parents what the phrase meant.
“He commented on the beauty he had,” he told the post.
At another meeting in his office, McGrath claimed that Cuomo looked at his shirt and asked him about his necklace. “I let my head down waiting for him to start talking and he didn’t start talking,” he said. “So I looked up to see what was going on. And he looked at me blatantly by the shirt.”
McGrath also said Cuomo kissed her on the forehead during the office’s Christmas party in 2019 and called her and a co-worker “mix breasts” after asking her co-worker about her life romantic.
“He has a way of making you feel very comfortable around him, almost like you’re his friend,” McGrath told the Times. “But then you walk away from the meeting or the conversation, thinking in your head, ‘I can’t believe I had this interaction with the governor of New York.’
Cuomo is under pressure to resign after several women filed lawsuits against him. Cuomo has rejected resignation requests and denied sexual harassment to anyone. However, he has apologized for the comments he made that could have upset the women.
“I’ve never wanted to offend anyone or hurt anyone or hurt anyone. I feel terrible for these people to feel uncomfortable, to feel hurt, to feel pain for interactions, and to feel ashamed and feel bad about it,” He said.
Cuomo’s office did not immediately respond to CBS News’ request for comment.
His lawyer, Rita Glavin, issued a statement to the Times saying that “the governor has greeted men and women with hugs and a kiss on the cheek, forehead or hand. Yes, he has posed for pictures with his arm around him. Yes, he uses Italian phrases like “hello beautiful”.
“None of this is remarkable, although it may have gone out of style. He has made it clear that he has never made inappropriate advances or touched anyone inappropriately.”
McGrath’s lawyer told CBS News, “The governor’s deflections are not credible. This was not just friendly jokes.”