Cuomo aide alleges he groped her in governor’s residence: report

An aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is accusing him of groping her in the Executive Mansion last year, a source familiar with the matter told The Times Union of Albany.

In a story published Wednesday, the newspaper reported the aide had relayed that Cuomo had her come to his home to help him with a cellphone issue but then proceeded to shut the door to a room, reached under her blouse and fondled her, the source said. The aide never filed a formal complaint afterward, the newspaper reported.

The allegations came to light by the aide’s colleagues after Cuomo’s March 3 press conference where he addressed accusations by other women, including former aides, who have accused him of unwanted sexual advances and other inappropriate behavior. 

When Cuomo denied ever touching another woman inappropriately, the source said the aide became upset and others noticed.

That is when the aide, who is much younger than Cuomo, told her supervisor what happened. Along with the incident at the mansion, the aide said Cuomo touched her before and engaged in flirtatious behavior, the source said.

The Times Union first reported the aide’s story on Tuesday, as she became the sixth woman to speak out against Cuomo. The account of the groping at the governor’s mansion was reported by the newspaper on Wednesday.  

In a statement to The Hill, the governor denied the aide’s account published Wednesday.

“As I said yesterday, I have never done anything like this. The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney general’s report,” Cuomo said in the statement.

Cuomo claimed in a press conference Tuesday that he did not know of any other allegations against him, even though The Times Union published and asked his office about the new allegations hours before the conference.

Despite Republican and Democratic lawmakers, including the Democratic leaders of the New York state Senate and Assembly calling for Cuomo to resign, the governor has said he will not step down. Attorney General Letitia James has asked two veteran attorneys to lead an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo.