Politics
Andrew Cuomo ‘used iPhone glitches as an excuse to get close to TWO women who accuse him of sexual harassment’
GOVERNOR Andrew Cuomo used iPhone glitches as an excuse to get close to TWO women who accuse him of sexual harassment, a report said on Sunday.
Cuomo, 63, faces accusations of sexual harassment leveled by seven women and is under growing pressure to resign.
Andrew Cuomo summoned Ms Bennet to his office to help him with his iPhone[/caption]
Charlotte Bennett claims that the governor harassed her during the height of New York’s fight against coronavirus[/caption]
Five of those women are current or former staffers including Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old health policy adviser who claims that Cuomo had harassed her during the height of New York’s fight against coronavirus.
According to Bennett’s Attorney, Jessica Westerman, Cuomo had summoned the 25-year-old to the Capitol to help him with his iPhone in June 2020, claiming that he was uncertain how to get from his “settings” to the “notes” app.
The request meant that Bennett had to stand close to the governor to show him how to navigate the homepage of his phone, a device that the governor had been using for at least several months, Westerman told the Times Union.
The day before Cuomo allegedly asked Bennett a series of personal questions including whether she had been in an intimate relationship with an older man and whether the fact she was a survivor of sexual assault made intimacy difficult for her, the Times Union reported.
Bennett, who no longer works for Cuomo, said that he had not touched her inappropriately during the encounter but that she felt uncomfortable due to the unsettling questions he had asked the day before.
Cuomo faces accusations of sexual harassment leveled by seven women and is under growing pressure to resign.
Cuomo has denied all allegations.
However, Bennett was not the only woman that Cuomo summoned to his private office claiming technical issues.
Anna Ruch accused Cuomo of sexual harassment after he tried to kiss her at a wedding[/caption]
Ana Liss used to work for the governor[/caption]
Five months later, the 63-year-old allegedly claimed that he had problems with his iPhone’s “notes” app summoning another unnamed woman to his office.
As she was helping him with the technical issue, he allegedly reached under her blouse and touched her breasts, the Times Union reported.
In a New York Magazine article published last week, a spokesperson for Cuomo described him as “notoriously technologically inept” and that “male and female staffers have for years assisted the governor with his computer.”
It comes as President Biden refuses to call for Cuomo’s resignation despite the ongoing sexual harassment scandal.
Biden told reporters at the White House on Sunday that he wanted to see the outcome of the attorney general’s investigation into Cuomo.
Asked if Cuomo should resign, Biden told reporters: “I think the investigation is underway and we should see what it brings us.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has also refused to call for Cuomo’s resignation despite claiming she has a “zero tolerance” rule for sexual assault and harassment accusations.
On Sunday Pelosi said that the women who have made sexual harassment allegations against the New York Democratic should be believed, but failed to join the growing list demanding he step down.
Ms Pelosi made the comments in an interview with the ABC’S ‘This Week’, saying Cuomo “should look inside his heart – he loves New York – to see if he can govern effectively.”
She went on: “What I said at the time that these revelations came forward, I said what these women have said must be treated with respect.”
Who has accused Gov. Cuomo of sexual harassment?
SEVEN women have accused Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual assault. Below are the six women who have been publicly named:
Lindsey Boylan – The former aide claims that the governor had kissed her on the lips in 2017 and went out of his way to touch her on her lower back, arms, and legs.
Charlotte Bennet – Cuomo’s former aide has accused him of sexual harassment claiming that he asked her about her sex life and whether she ever had sex with older men.
Anna Ruch – A third woman, Anna Ruch, also came forward and told The New York Times that Cuomo touched her lower back, then grabbed her cheeks and asked to kiss her at a September 2019 wedding.
Ana Liss – Ms Liss was the fouth former Cuomo staffer to claim sexual harassment saying that the governor asked her if she had a boyfriend and that he once toucher her lower back at an event
Karen Hilton – Cuomo’s former aide claims that he “touched her inappropriately” and that he summoned her to his “dimly-lit” hotel room and hugged her after a work event about 21 years ago.
Jessica Bakeman – The former Albany statehouse reporter claims she was sexually harassed by Como on multiple occasions from the start of her career in 2012.
“They are credible and serious charges, and then I called for an investigation. I have confidence in the Attorney General of New York.”
”Again, with all respect in the world for what these women have come forward and said.”
It came as former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said an investigation into the sexual harassment allegations against Governor Cuomo should be completed before any action is taken against him.
Also speaking to ABC News, Mr Christie pointed out that state Attorney General Letitia James has launched a probe into the claims and appointed two lawyers to assist her with it.
Mr Christie said: “Let them do the investigation” and if it confirms the claims, “then action will have to be taken. ”
Mr Christie said he is following the same advice he counseled after former President Donald Trump faced claims from Democrats.
He explained: “I can’t be a hypocrite on this. I sat here for years when Democrats were demanding things of President Trump before investigations were completed and I would say, ‘Wait, we’ve got to let the investigation go forward, let’s hear all the facts and then let’s make a decision’.”
“Well, if I’m going to sit there and say that about Donald Trump, which I did, then I have to say exactly the same thing about Andrew Cuomo if I’m going to be consistent.”
Calls have this week increased for the governor to resign after allegations of sexual harassment and unwanted advanced have emerged.
Cuomo’s governor job appears to be hanging by a thread after at least 121 members of the state Assembly and Senate called on him to quit, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
Calls have this week increased for the governor to resign after allegations of sexual harassment and unwanted advanced have emerged.
Cuomo’s governor job appears to be hanging by a thread after at least 121 members of the state Assembly and Senate called on him to quit, according to a tally by The Associated Press.
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The count includes 65 Democrats and 56 Republicans.
Federal investigators are also scrutinizing how the Cuomo administration handled data about how many nursing home residents have died of Covid.
The governor and his aides argued for months that it couldn’t release full figures on deaths because it had yet to verify the data.
Former Albany reporter Jess Bakeman claims the harassment started when she began her journalism career in 2012[/caption]
