Cuomo boasted about ‘the large size of his hands,’ accuser tells investigators
ALBANY, N.Y. — One of the women accusing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of inappropriate behavior met virtually with state investigators for more than four hours on Monday, according to her attorney. Debra Katz, who represents Charlotte Bennett, said in a statement that Bennett detailed her allegations and gave investigators from state Attorney General Tish James’ office more than 120 pages of records and other documentation to back up her claims. Katz said Bennett, who has accused the governor of asking her intimate questions, provided new information “about the sexually hostile work environment” in the governor’s New York City and Albany offices and “his deliberate effort to create rivalries and tension among female staffers on whom he bestowed attention.” “One piece of new information that came to light today was the Governor’s preoccupation with his hand size and what the large size of his hands indicated to Charlotte and other members of his staff,” Katz said. “The investigators have been moving quickly, and with sensitivity, to get to the heart of these allegations,” Katz said. “We remain confident that their investigation will substantiate Charlotte’s claims of sexual harassment against Gov. Cuomo, as well as the failure of his senior staff to meet their mandatory reporting requirements under the very laws he signed.” Cuomo has said he never touched anyone inappropriately and has said he would cooperate with the investigation. Bennett, a former Cuomo staffer, told The New York Times last month that the governor had repeatedly asked her personal questions, which felt like “something out of a horror movie.” They included questions about her romantic life and whether Bennett, 25, “had ever been with an older man.” The governor is 63. Bennett said Cuomo never touched her. But, she told the Times, "I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared.” She is one of at least six women who has come forward with allegations of misconduct against the governor in the past three weeks. The accounts are from former aides and non-staffers and range from predatory behavior to groping. They have been accompanied by additional accounts of bullying and harassment from both Cuomo and his aides during his years as governor. Cuomo is being investigated by the state attorney general and an Assembly committee as the first step in an impeachment process. He has said he will not resign despite calls for him to do so from legislators and top Democrats in the state and Washington D.C.
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ALBANY, N.Y. — One of the women accusing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of inappropriate behavior met virtually with state investigators for more than four hours on Monday, according to her attorney.
Debra Katz, who represents Charlotte Bennett, said in a statement that Bennett detailed her allegations and gave investigators from state Attorney General Tish James’ office more than 120 pages of records and other documentation to back up her claims.
Katz said Bennett, who has accused the governor of asking her intimate questions, provided new information “about the sexually hostile work environment” in the governor’s New York City and Albany offices and “his deliberate effort to create rivalries and tension among female staffers on whom he bestowed attention.”
“One piece of new information that came to light today was the Governor’s preoccupation with his hand size and what the large size of his hands indicated to Charlotte and other members of his staff,” Katz said.
“The investigators have been moving quickly, and with sensitivity, to get to the heart of these allegations,” Katz said. “We remain confident that their investigation will substantiate Charlotte’s claims of sexual harassment against Gov. Cuomo, as well as the failure of his senior staff to meet their mandatory reporting requirements under the very laws he signed.”
Cuomo has said he never touched anyone inappropriately and has said he would cooperate with the investigation.
Bennett, a former Cuomo staffer, told The New York Times last month that the governor had repeatedly asked her personal questions, which felt like “something out of a horror movie.” They included questions about her romantic life and whether Bennett, 25, “had ever been with an older man.” The governor is 63.
Bennett said Cuomo never touched her. But, she told the Times, "I understood that the governor wanted to sleep with me, and felt horribly uncomfortable and scared.”
She is one of at least six women who has come forward with allegations of misconduct against the governor in the past three weeks. The accounts are from former aides and non-staffers and range from predatory behavior to groping. They have been accompanied by additional accounts of bullying and harassment from both Cuomo and his aides during his years as governor.
Cuomo is being investigated by the state attorney general and an Assembly committee as the first step in an impeachment process. He has said he will not resign despite calls for him to do so from legislators and top Democrats in the state and Washington D.C.
