ALBANY, N.Y. — Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s office is requesting “investigative materials” from the state attorney general related to sexual harassment claims against Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Vance on Wednesday joined prosecutors from Westchester and Albany counties who are looking into the governor’s behavior following the release of a damning report detailing allegations from multiple women who say Cuomo subjected them to unwanted advances and sexual comments.
The report was the result of a five-month independent investigation overseen by state Attorney General Letitia James that corroborated the accounts of 11 women, mostly much younger staffers, who say the governor harassed them.
“When our office learned yesterday that the (attorney general)’s investigation of the Governor’s conduct was complete, our office contacted the A.G.’s Office to begin requesting investigative materials in their possession pertaining to incidents that occurred in Manhattan,” Vance spokesman Danny Frost tweeted.
Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo adviser, was the first woman to go public with her claims against the governor earlier this year. She says that the governor once kissed her without her consent at his Manhattan office.
Several other women who worked for the 63-year-old Democrat detailed predatory behavior on part of the governor.
During a briefing on Tuesday, James said that the investigation clearly found that Cuomo broke state and federal law. However, she did not make any recommendations for criminal prosecution, instead leaving it up to local district attorneys to determine whether the governor will face any charges.
Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah has also said her office is looking into the allegations.
“As some of the governor’s conduct described in the report occurred in Westchester County, we have formally requested investigative materials obtained by the AG’s office,” Rocah said in a statement.
According to the report, Cuomo repeatedly harassed a female state trooper assigned to his security detail.
The trooper detailed several instances in which the governor touched her inappropriately or commented about her appearance during her tenure working on his travel team and guarding him at his former Mount Kisco home, which he shared with former girlfriend Sandra Lee.
In 2019, the trooper was stationed outside the tony Westchester residence when Cuomo asked if he could kiss her.
“I remember just freezing,” she told investigators. “In the back of my head, I’m like, oh, how do I say no politely because in my head if I said no, he’s going to take it out on the detail. And now I’m on the bad list.”
Fearing for her job, she replied: “Sure.”
“The Governor then proceeded to kiss Trooper #1 on the cheek and said something to the effect of, ‘oh, I’m not supposed to do that’ or ‘unless that’s against the rules,’” the report said.
The trooper described another encounter in which Cuomo ran his finger down her back while the pair were riding in an elevator up to his Manhattan office.
Albany District Attorney David Soares also said his office would “welcome any victim to contact our office with additional information” about Cuomo.
Soares said on Tuesday that he too plans to request investigative materials from the state attorney general’s probe.
Several women say the governor made sexually-charged comments and touched them inappropriately while working in the State Capitol.
Another of Cuomo’s accusers, a young woman who worked for his administration, claims that the governor groped her at the governor’s mansion in Albany late last year.
The staffer told investigators that she “in no way, shape or form invited that nor did I ask for it. I didn’t want it. I feel like I was being taken advantage of.”
She feared for her job and initially remained resolved to take the incident “to the grave,” but later related her account to co-workers after witnessing Cuomo publicly deny ever touching a woman inappropriately.
Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing and said Tuesday he would welcome the chance to tell his side of the story in court.
“Trial by newspaper or biased reviews are not the way to find the facts in this matter,” he said during a prerecorded rebuttal to James’ report.
