Second woman accuses Cuomo of harassment
By BILL
MAHONEY 02/27/2021 07:26 PM EST
ALBANY,
N.Y. — A second former staffer has accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual
harassment.
Charlotte
Bennett, who began working for the state last March, told The New York Times
that the governor had repeatedly asked her intimate 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.”
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. And was wondering how I was going to get out of it and assumed it was
the end of my job.”
Earlier
this week, another former Cuomo staffer, Lindsey Boylan, detailed allegations
of harassment from Cuomo. Among other things, Boylan said Cuomo kissed her on
the lips and asked her to play strip poker during a plane ride.
Cuomo’s
office announced minutes after the story appeared that it was launching an
“independent review” into the matter.
Former
federal Judge Barbara Jones will conduct the review, according to Cuomo counsel
Beth Garvey.
Lt. Gov.
Kathy Hochul, who is first in line of succession, issued a statement on
Saturday night, saying: "Everyone deserves to have their voice heard and
taken seriously. I support an independent review."
Cuomo did
not explicitly deny the specific claims Bennett made.
"When
she came to me and opened up about being a sexual assault survivor and how it
shaped her and her ongoing efforts to create an organization that empowered her
voice to help other survivors, I tried to be supportive and helpful,” Cuomo
said in a statement. “Ms. Bennett's initial impression was right: I was trying
to be a mentor to her. I never made advances toward Ms. Bennett nor did I ever
intend to act in any way that was inappropriate. The last thing I would ever
have wanted was to make her feel any of the things that are being reported.
"This
situation cannot and should not be resolved in the press; I believe the best
way to get to the truth is through a full and thorough outside review and I am
directing all state employees to comply with that effort. I ask all New Yorkers
to await the findings of the review so that they know the facts before making
any judgments. I will have no further comment until the review has
concluded."
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